How To Do A Fall Ayurvedic Cleanse

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 Photos via Vidya Cleanse and Pinterest.

Note: this post is excerpted from a post on Organic India's blog by Ayurvedic Wellness Educator and Herbalist Hopi Darnell.

An essential part of Ayurveda is following cues of nature, and that means eating what nature provides for the season. 

Interestingly, fall and spring are the two times per year that the seasonal harvest foods have an especially cleansing effect on the body, helping us transition into the extreme weather cycles of winter and summer (both of which have great impact on our body’s inflammatory response, stress levels, and digestive health).

In the early fall months we have a great opportunity for deeper cleansing, signaled by the arrival of apples, beets and green beans. This harvest of lymph-cleansing foods expels heat we've accumulated in our bodies all summer, resetting the body’s inflammatory response before the colder, harsher months of winter (when the available foods are naturally heavier, richer, and more difficult to digest). Should we miss this opportunity for fall cleansing, we can likely expect to catch more seasonal illnesses in the winter, experience digestive imbalances, and have difficulty maintaining a healthy weight.

The Equinoxes – when day and night hang in equal balance – are considered in Ayurveda to be the best times to cleanse. The traditional Panchakarma is a simple, 4-day detox that can be easily performed at home using herbs, skincare and an important therapy called oleation. In Sanskrit, pancha means 5 and karma means action – these are the 5 actions that can be used for a fall cleanse.

Steps: 
1. Daily Oleation, where melted Ghee is consumed first thing in the morning in increasing amounts (flax, hemp, or coconut oil can be used as a vegan alternative). Note: Organic India has an awesome buy-one-get-one free deal for ghee going on right now!



2. Eating a mono-diet of a split mung bean and rice soup called 'Kitchari', 3 meals per day. Kitchari is a traditional mung bean and rice porridge with a nourishing yet detoxifying effect for the body.


3. Skin brushing with a cotton washcloth or raw silk gloves designed for this purpose, prior to evening bath or shower

4. 20-minute evening bath or shower

4. Self massage with organic food grade raw sesame oil or coconut oil during or after evening bath or shower

Photo via Organic India.

5. Herbal supplements are used to aid digestion, and on day 4 laxative therapy on Day 4 helps expel toxins from the body. Herbs include Turmeric (with meals), Amalaki (before meals, if you have agitated digestion), Trikatu (before meals, if you have sluggish digestion), and Liver Kidney formula (between meals).



If you're going to participate in this cleanse, I highly recommend using products by Organic India. They are a conscious brand who you can trust for high-quality, exceptional organic foods. In working with Organic India's PR team, I was incredibly impressed by their generosity, professionalism, and compassion. Seriously leaps and bounds above so many brands I've worked with!

Would you do an Ayurvedic cleanse? Have you done one? What was your experience?

Kombucha Love

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 Do you guys like kombucha?

It’s a bubbly fermented tea drink that’s great for your digestion. You can find it in lots of flavors at the grocery store, and more and more I’m hearing about friends who brew at home, and local restaurants and food trucks that offer it on tap.

 

Recently I had the pleasure of trying Kombucha Wonder Drink, and I have to say I’m impressed with their sparkling varieties! My favorite is the Essence of Mango; it’s just the right amount of sweetness.

I also loved re-using the little bottles for drinking water throughout my work day. (You could even put a few Gerber daisies in one and set it on your desk as a way to brighten up the room!)


It’s great that Kombucha Wonder Drink doesn’t need to be refrigerated until after it’s opened – meaning you could place an order online and have it shipped to you, rather than needing to buy it in the grocery store. This is because the kombucha is pasteurized, so it is absent of live cultures, and therefore shelf stable. The drink still has active organic acids—the stuff in kombucha that helps improve digestion and detoxify. Kombucha Wonder Drink is the only brand to offer this shelf-stable variety, because of founder Stephen Lee's expertise in the tea industry (he also co-founded the Stash and Tazo Tea companies).


What’s your favorite kombucha flavor?

PS Learn more about how kombucha is made, and the nutritional benefits of kombucha.

Gratitude and Abundance

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This week, my heart feels full. I feel at peace.

I have been experiencing a big shift…


Settling in. Meditating. Eating healthier. Expressing my emotions more.

There is so much abundance in my life! And it feels really good to take time to notice it, and to be grateful.


How are you, dear reader? What do you have going on in your Yoga practice?

I hope you have a fun weekend, and I encourage you to start it off by taking the five deepest breaths you’ve taken all day :)


XO

Trust Yourself

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Push past your discomfort…

Stick to a habit, not listening to the negative self talk that normally holds you back.

 

Stick to it some more, and learn to trust yourself.


Learn through repeated experiments that you are stronger than you think, that you are more capable and more tolerant of discomfort than you think.



This post is excerpted from one of my favorite blogs, Zen Habits. Photos via My Morning Coffee on Tumblr.

What We Hold Onto

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Photo by  Cait Loper Photography.

The last few weeks have been eventful, to say the least.

Several family members have been in the hospital. I am in the process of moving (just across town). I had my one-year anniversary at work (and got a raise!). I returned to my yoga mat and can feel my body building strength—it’s the strongest I’ve felt since my back issues this summer, and wow, I am grateful to feel great in my body again.

Soon, the dust will settle. And already, I’m reflecting on these experiences, noticing what wisdom they hold.

Photo by Justin Kral of Kral Studios.

Several questions keep resurfacing: what am I really holding onto? What are the things in my life worth clinging to?

When I really stop and think about it, I’m amazed by the amount of time I waste on some things that don’t really matter, but that feel good:
  • surfing the Internet and reading posts on social media
  • watching TV
  • eating unhealthy foods
I also waste time by:
  • making excuses
  • ignoring my emotions
  • hiding
  • letting guilt, fear or shame run the show
These are habits I've been working on changing, and I still have a long ways to go.

And I’m also amazed by the things I do that really matter, how rich and fulfilling those are:
  • spending time with the people I love
  • saying, ‘I love you,’ and giving hugs
  • practicing gratitude and awareness
  • teaching yoga from my heart
  • practicing yoga and leaving my ego aside
  • cooking and eating healthy foods
  • practicing reiki and taking an active role in my healing journey
  • writing blog posts and connecting with yogis who have been impacted by my story

I read a post recently about living a minimalist life (it was by Leo Babuata at Zen Habits). He was saying how, when you really break it down, happiness is as simple as this:

1. Decide what’s important.
2. Eliminate the rest.

Now is a good time to show up to my life, fully. It’s not always easy to be conscious, present, and to move through life with clear intention… but now is a good time to start.

I was going about my day and suddenly, everything changed. I found myself rushing to the hospital, sitting in an emergency room, knowing someone I love with my whole heart was suffering. I showed up. All the little stuff fell away… and I was left with this:

Now is the time to love others. Love freely, without attachment to the outcome. To give what I can, frequently. To be incredibly kind to those around me, and to thank my teachers. I choose to embody the love in my heart fully, using my words and my devotional practices.


I have an incredible support network. I have a beautiful family, incredible friends, a yoga community that inspires and amazes me, and people who constantly show me that they care. I am held up by these people, and quite honestly I would be nowhere without them. The most important thing I can do is acknowledge this, and treat all of the wonderful people in my life with kindness.

I have my body. I am more than my body, but it is a vital part of my experience here, and worth loving. Putting my health first allows me to do the things I love, and to serve others more fully. Now is a good time to love my body without exception, and to make choices that allow me to experience radiant health.

Now is a good time to show up to my life, fully. To let go of the things that I’m holding on to that aren't important. To love others, and to love myself. When it comes down to it, that’s what really matters.

Yoga for Living a Full Life

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Photos via the lovely Amelia on Flickr.

True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life.

Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived.


Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming.


Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.



Quote by Aadil Palkhivala; found via Julia Lee Yoga.

Sacramento Free Day of Yoga

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Calling all Sactown yogis!

If you are around for Labor Day, I invite you to check out the day of free yoga going on in Sacramento on Monday, September 1st.

A lot of studios are offering free classes -- you can find them here. There's a little bit of something for everyone: vinyasa, yin, kundalini, even a workshop on Ayurveda and yogic eating!

Wherever you practice, I hope you enjoy trying something new :)

PS If you are a local who attends and you feel inspired to share about your experience, please email me at aliveinthefire at gmail dot com. I'd love to feature you on the blog!

When You are Quiet, You See Everything With Love

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When I am quiet, I can hear the cries of my heart.

Sometimes it is when I am just driving in my car that it hits me—how precious the moment is, how sacred the song sounds, how beautiful the light is falling through the window.

I see in the mirror, the look in my own eye.

There is a knowing in my heart, the knowing that I am finally beginning to fall deeply in love with myself.


I love the moment when someone notices me, and maybe their eyes flash over to my hair or my colorful tattooed arm, and their eyes go a little wider and a smile comes across their face. And I am astonished, now, how I can look in the mirror and feel that same rush, that same reassured and calm energy that you get when someone familiar and peaceful is in your presence. 

How you are drawn to them quietly… an effortless, magnetic pull. Sometimes, just a nameless feeling, simply a sense of harmony.

Photo by Cait Loper.

Tears come to me in the quiet – in the in-between, the precious stillness.


There is so much beauty and peace there, blossoming.

Don't Worry

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 Photo via Event Brite.
Sometimes we get overwhelmed seeing yogis bending like pretzels or hovering upside down, and we think, I’ll never do that!

Well, a little food for thought from one of my favorite teachers:

“Don’t worry. These poses have nothing to do with meditation or enlightenment.” 
~ Sri Dharma Mittra

Photo via Teachasana.

Yes. Thank you. Let’s remember what this practice is really about. There is so much more than the asana! :)

Wanderlust 2014 at Squaw Valley (Yoga and Music in Tahoe)

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Last weekend I enjoyed some adventuring at

Wanderlust Squaw

. Were you guys at the festival?

I didn’t buy a ticket this year, which actually ended up being perfect. I was free to just enjoy the atmosphere, people watch, and catch up with friends… just take it all in

without being on a schedule

:)

Here are some of my favorite moments…

Seeing beautiful

Lake Tahoe

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Yoga

 shenanigans… 

Acro yoga

, arm balances and inversions, hula hooping…

Live music, hugs with friends old and new, and 

good food

.

Wild mountain weather (it poured!).

Beautiful scenery at Squaw. Tahoe is truly a magical spot.

Rad vendors who sell handmade crafts like this lamp I bought:

Overall it was a lovely weekend, and I had a blast!

PS Last year’s 

Wanderlust

 was fantastic too – I met Dharma Mittra and took his asana class and meditation and pranayama workshop! Life changing.

Advice to New Yoga Teachers

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Photo by Justin Kral of Kral Studios.

Lately I've been reflecting on what advice I'd give to new yoga teachers.

 Again and again, I'm amazed at how much teaching yoga encourages me to be a more patient, loving, compassionate person. What a challenging and fulfilling practice it is to stand in front of others and share what you love!
Photo via Flickr.
Advice for New Yoga Teachers

 1. When you get nervous before class (and you will), remember that being nervous is good – it means you care. :) Get grounded; start the class in child’s pose so you can take a moment for yourself. Breathe. Feel your feet on the floor. Say to yourself, “OK, I’m nervous. So what? I’m going to do this any way.”

 2. See the students. Really, step back and SEE them. And then teach to who is in the room. Watch their bodies, not their faces. Their faces often look frustrated or annoyed or bored… but this is the look people have on their faces when they’re challenged by a pose. It has nothing to do with your teaching!
Photo via my lovely friend, Thais.
3. Teach out of adoration. Remember what this practice is really about. When you approach it with love for your students – for their happiness, peace, and well-being—it really shifts. It becomes less about you and more about sharing the gift of yoga with others.

 4. Ask for feedback, but only when you are ready to receive it. Trust your intuition firs, knowing that your opinion of yourself matters most. I made the mistake at one point of asking for too much feedback, and found my head spinning, trying to take it all in. Now, I’m very conscious about who I ask for feedback, and when… I talk to the teachers whose opinion I value and who I know will support me in growing. I also keep coming back to this: I know myself best and I can trust in that.
Photo via my lovely friend, Thais.
5. If students leave the room, don’t take it personally. They've got something going on that they need to attend to; your job is to keep teaching the class.

 6. Take a breath before taking on new teaching gigs. At first, I thought it would be awesome to get as many classes on my schedule as possible…whew, was I wrong! It’s easy to get burned out. Right now I teach one class a week and that is perfect. It gives me time to work my day job and have a social life, and still fit in my practice too.
  

 7. Get to know a studio before you teach there. Do the owners support their teachers? Is there a community established? Will you feel comfortable and supported? How far from home/work is the studio? Being a new teacher is a vulnerable role to begin with, so choose teaching opportunities that are good for you… whatever that looks like.

 8. Don’t sacrifice your practice in order to teach. Period.



9. Play around. Experiment. Teach a class with no music. See what feels good. Sometimes getting out of your comfort zone will spark something new and incredible.

10. Plan ahead. When you’re brand new, it helps to know what poses are in your sequence, what music you’re playing, how the heat in the room works, whether you’ll be wearing a mic, etc. Come prepared.

 11. And then, once you have your feet under you, let it flow in the moment. Walk in without a rigid plan, and see what happens. You may enjoy the freedom and creativity that comes with being in the moment, and not being attached to a certain outcome. Notice who is in your class – beginners, advanced yogis, those with injury? Adjust accordingly, and enjoy the process!

12. Thank your students. Thank them while they’re resting in savasana (I like to do this silently, energetically). Feel what a blessing it is, sharing yoga, seeing how it brings peace.

 13. Thank yourself. You are giving so much. Recognize that. I thank you, too!

 14. Meditate. Get clear on your intention. Why do you teach yoga?

 15. Show up. This is perhaps the best advice I can give. When you're excited to teach, show up. When you want to run in the other direction. show up anyway. Keep showing up.

15. As we used to say in my teacher training, it’s just a fucking yoga class! If you get overwhelmed, just remember this... it will at least help you smile :)

 Love all you yogis and yoga teachers! I'd love to hear your advice for new teachers, if you have any. Please feel free to share below or, as always, email me at aliveinthefire at gmail dot com. <3

May You Be Well: A New Series on Alive in the Fire

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I am working on setting new healthy habits in my life. I cultivate wellness by making conscious choices that are good for my body, mind, and spirit.

What I’m learning is that having a realistic approach – and being kind to myself – are key in this process.

I am not perfect, and that is OK!

As a way to document my progress, and in an effort to inspire others to be healthy, I am starting a new series on Alive in the Fire called May You Be Well. I’ll be posting ways you can happily approach radiant health by making small changes.

Each day, we have choices. My choice is to do a little bit each day. My choice is to experience as much well-being as I can, and to encourage others to do the same.

Cheers to the new series, and hope you’ll follow along!

PS I’ll be posting on Instagram at @aliveinthefire too… keep an eye out for the hashtags #mayyoubewell and #dailywellness, and hope you’ll join in the conversation. Much love, yogis!

Ajna Chakra

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Photos via Pinterest and Mystic Mamma.

“Close down your eyes. Gaze in at the third eye.”


During every class I teach, I cue my students to go inward. To draw in. To let the mind settle, the body be still.

To see what wisdom is waiting.



The pose offers us a door, and in meditation, we walk through it.


May you see with great wisdom. May you trust your inner guide. May you be, truly, at peace.

You Have Such a Beautiful Practice

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Photos via Pinterest.

It is such a powerful thing to thank the person on the mat next to you for sharing their practice.

“You have such a beautiful practice,” I’ll say. "You're so strong and focused in the poses."


“When you did Bird of Paradise, I was inspired to go a little farther in my pose.”


“Thank you.”


Coming together to practice the poses is a gift. 

Thank you, fellow yogis, for showing up on your mats.

Playing the Victim

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Photos via Coffee and Yoga and My Morning Coffee on Tumblr.

Sometimes I fall into this cycle of playing the victim.

This happened recently when I was having intense low back pain. I’d be standing at work, or driving in my car, and be completely overwhelmed. What did I do to deserve this pain? When will it end? I just want to be back on my yoga mat! This isn’t fair!

I felt helpless to my own situation. There’s nothing I can do to make this better.

Then, last week, I started actively pursuing healing for myself and it was uncanny, how quickly I felt better.


Seeing my doctor and chiropractor is helping to rule out the possibilities. Seeing my reiki healer is helping to release fear and attachment to the physical pain. Choosing to eat better, to go for walks, and to get more sleep is helping my aching body to heal.

Talking it through with people I love is helping me to remember I am not alone.

The reality is that there are things that I am doing to make it better.

It’s getting better, and will continue to.

The reality is that I have a choice in how I react. I can choose to see myself as beautiful, perfect, and healed. In fact, I can step into that reality right here, right now and let things be OK as they are.

Instead of playing the victim and living in the fear, I choose to love myself. To heal.

Shavasana: Final Rest

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Photo by Justin Kral.

In shavasana all effort and all determination fall away. The body lies in stillness.

We are not the body, which is subject to death, but rather we are the unborn, the unchanging. The death of the body invites us to come back to our true nature, which is consciousness.

This letting go of artificial identification with what is impermanent is shavasana.

Shavasana, when done properly – as the letting go of everything – shows us what we truly are. Both the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita state that the pure existence, pure awareness, pure being that is left at the end of the body is without beginning and end.

It cannot be cut by knives,
It cannot be pierced by thorns,
It cannot be burned by fire,
It cannot be drowned in water.
It is eternal, the true self.


This post is an excerpt from Ashtanga Yoga: Practice & Philosophy by Gregor Maehle. Namaste.

No Mud, No Lotus (On Suffering, Injury and Tattoos)

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Through my struggle, I am developing compassion.

My back has been hurting again this week. I think it became aggravated during a chair twist, one I demonstrated while I was teaching. I wasn't careful, and now there’s pain again.

I've been frustrated. I cried about it. My ego showed up, saying, “What did I do to deserve this? Why me?”

But I choose to breathe. Today I invite patience, calling upon my yoga practice.


I read recently that you can tell you've been practicing yoga for a while – that it’s working – when you notice that you’re a little slower to anger, a little more aware, that maybe you can laugh when something unexpected or uncomfortable comes along.


I think about my beautiful sleeve of lotus flowers, each of them a reminder of some pain I’ve been through.

“Most people are afraid of suffering,” Thich Nhat Hanh says. “But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower grow. There cannot be a lotus flower without the mud.”


I am in the mud, and I am the lotus.

All is exactly as it should be.


I consciously choose to adopt an attitude of gratitude for what this experience of back pain is bringing me: new appreciation for my body… new appreciation for those who support me…and a chance to step away from my mat and let my teaching be my practice. 

To see my students with adoration, and to have an intention of helping them stay safe in their yoga—good alignment, careful, integrated movement.


I even have plans to develop a class for people who are dealing with injury, and for those healing back pain. 

I have plans to use the next few months to study anatomy, to dive back in to my teacher training curriculum and expand my understanding of how each pose affects the body. And to start fundraising for my next training. 

I may be off my mat, but I am still actively involved in my yoga practice.

 

Longing, loss, devastation… they make way for repair. They are the mud that creates the beautiful, graceful lotus.


I invite the fullness of healing. I invite patient awareness. I invite growth. This, too, shall pass; in fact, this is already exactly as it should be.

Wanderlust Festival at Squaw Valley

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Photos by Ali Kaukas, via Wanderlust.

Are you Wanderlust-ing this year?

Wanderlust is my favorite yoga and music festival. I went to Squaw Valley last year and absolutely loved it.

I took classes with Dharma Mittra and MC Yogi, hula hooped with Shakti Sunfire, and had a blast wandering around seeing performers, eating delicious food, and listening to great music.


At night, the party came to life when Quixotic, Gramatik, and Moby played live.

This year’s lineup is amazing, too, and I’m really excited to go!


It’s crazy reflecting on the past year and how much has changed… and how much I’ve grown since I was at Wanderlust for my first time…


Since I took Dharma Mittra’s workshop last year, I’ve been eating vegetarian. (Well, pescetarian :)


Last year I attended the festival as a yoga student. Now, I’m a yoga teacher, too.

Then, I walked into the fest with one friend. I left for home with a handful of new friends from Tahoe who I’m still close to. This July, I’ll be attending among dozens of yogi friends, fellow teachers, and members of my local community. It is an amazing feeling to be so plugged in here in California!



I’m feeling very grateful and excited about Wanderlust this year. Will you be attending? XO


 PS You can read about my experience at Wanderlust 2013 to get an idea of how it was... amazing!