Mantra Monday: Nothing Good is Easy; Nothing Easy is Good.

Why do I practice mysore style ashtanga yoga?

When I began practicing back in May, I thought it was just another asana practice. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, the first two weeks of practice nearly killed me from the aggravation that my body wouldn't do what it was supposed to and the early hour, chief among a laundry list of other general complaints that I could come up with at a moments notice. But I stayed with it. It was hard - some days I literally had to slog myself to the shala and each and every breath and muscle hurt (at least they were letting me know they were there).

Then it slowly became easier.

At some point I came to the realization that the vinyasas are actually asanas in and of themselves, how breath and energy can move through the body. On Sunday's practice, there was no resistance and fight from my body as D2 slipped my legs over my head and pulled my hands together to be bound in Supta Kurmasana.

There was no fight. There was no struggle nor drama.
Just with ease. Just with peace.

What is the main and unexpected lesson I receiving from my practice?
Discipline.

Be it law, architecture, medicine, asana - to move forward takes discipline. The willingness to meet yourself again for the first time and drop any preconceived notions of who you are and where you think you should be. I've learned that these two only limit your abilities and impede progress.

The same goes for Art. Sure, there are people who are naturally gifted, but it's really how you use that gift that makes the difference.

In any asana practice strength builds flexibility and flexibility builds strength. Yeah, I could be content to get my nose to just past my knees in Paschimottanasana. To get your nose to your shin, you don't muscle your way there, hunching your shoulders forward and rounding your back. You engage your legs, engage the illusive mula bhanda, and pull your shoulders down your back. Soon your body has the flexibility so it doesn't fight itself into position.

If you put in the time and passion your practice (law, architecture, art, asana) it will evolve at a quicker rate than if you just sit and lackadaisically move through life.

This week, I begin discovering my Art practice.
Will it be back to jewelry/metalsmithing? or painting? or something else?
I don't know.

What I do know:
I need to put in the time and have that same discipline to meet myself on the drawing board.

A Different Shade of Green

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm one of those people here in DC who have to get away from the city for at least a day once a month. Otherwise, I become cranky and slowly become embittered and curmudgeonly.

That coupled with not sleeping well, replaying the events of two years ago as I tried to sleep, trying to sit with the images and sensations, allowing them space to process, the two times I did make it to my mat last week, I was no better than lead weight attempting to move through molasses and some semblance of the asana sequence. Case in point: D had me stop at Mari-C last Thursday after I completely foo-barred the Janu sequence and to be honest, I'm almost positive I missed a couple earlier asanas.

Traveling, letting go, returning to New England, and seeing a different colored green was much needed.

* * *

Saturday morning I woke, bright and early - 4 am so I could catch my cab to National and be there promptly at 5am. Upon arrival, I look at the departure screen and I didn't see the departure time for my flight. I saw the flight number, it wasn't the correct time. I was just going to proceed to the gate, but thought better of it and went to the ticket counter to inquire as to the change. As I walked to the counter, SakaPinda mat bag on my back and small weekend tote in tow, I looked at my boarding pass and it didn't look quite right.

I figured I was just tired.
Then it dawned on me like a hammer falling from the sky.
I MADE MY FLIGHT RESERVATIONS IN REVERSE?!

I was currently supposed to be at TF Greene, in Rhode Island - flying to National. Ha! After talking with the ticket agent and laying the blame of the ticketing snafu squarely on the shoulders of my secretary (never mind that I am a/the secretary) it would have cost $1,170 to correct this error.

Call me crazy, but I'm not interested in paying that amount of money for what would total, round trip, approx. 100 minutes in the air.

The Mathematician and the Artist checked the Amtrak schedule and there was a regional train leaving Union Station at 6:20am. I could just make it and did. I've always enjoyed traveling by train - save for the Columbia Law student who sat next to me and proceeded to have the same loud drama-filled phone conversation at least 10 times between New York Penn and Mystic, CT where I met up with the Mathematician and the Artist.

The whole plane debacle became a great lesson in flexibility and creativity, remembering that there are always multiple solutions and the initial error, set up for a wonderful weekend. Forcing me to relax on a train as it wound it's way up the eastern seaboard. The weekend was full of wonderful food, from local restaurants with fresh local ingredients and fresh baked goods, to practicing mat to mat at SPY, going to a new-to-me shala for a led full primary class, to catching up with close friends I hadn't seen in ages.

If I had to pick a single solitary highlight to my weekend, I would have to say the time spent with Lady Apollo.

We hadn't seen each other since the Parson's and my wedding in August 2006. Sure, we've talked on the phone but there's something to be said for seeing someone in person. It's an understatement to say that a lot has happened since then. Laying on our backs soaking in the late summer RI sun in the Sculpture Garden behind RISD admissions, she hadn't realized the scope of everything that had happened. Simultaneously, I came to some further realization of how much 5 months of my life, two years ago has affected me and my path.


This was the first time in a long while that I shed tears for Parson and outwardly and publicly showed my grief, my pain, and my passion for living all that life has to offer.

Om Namah Shivaya.

Off the Grid.

One of the best ways to remove a splinter from your fingertip is to coat your hand in vaseline and cover it with a white cotton sock overnight. In the morning the splinter will have either worked itself out or can easily be coaxed out.

So I'm off to RI for the weekend - catching a cab at 4:30am tomorrow morning to Regan National. (Yay for e-savers)

Currently I'm planning on catching up with Bro, Fluellen, Lady Apollo, and of course the Mathematician and the Artist. Maybe catch a class at SPY and make it to Ashtanga Yoga RI for a led class Monday morning.

I've been off the grid for a bit - floating on the waves of emotion. Trying to figure out how to navigate these paths, I was reminded by Tova, a wonderful shalamate of mine (who knows the value of a luscious cupcake), that one of the things this practice does is to bring up emotion.

On a daily basis we work to honestly face ourselves. Processing our fears and desires - allowing it all to work its way to the surface - trying to find some balance and flow among everything going on in life.

Mantra Monday: It's Good to be Good...but...

...Sometimes, It's Oh, So Good to be "Bad."


If you look in my fridge and pantry, there is very little that isn't that "healthy." I usually get 6.5-8 hours of sleep a night. I generally do a good job of taking care of myself, but sometimes...

I have been known to split a bottle (or two) of Cava with the Mathematician along with bagels and cream cheese, chased by 3 donuts each from DunkinDonuts - before 6 am. That's neither the Mathematician's nor my normal MO.

But, every once in a while, an occasion calls for a bit of indulgence.

* * *
Staying up late to connect with a friend or taking some time to lose myself in an epic cheesy girl movie marathon at night resulting me missing practice the next morning. And/Or indulging in GH's decadent homemade from scratch fudge brownies, topped with rich creamy vanilla ice cream resulting in a sluggish practice the following day.

I don't rebel, jumping to the opposite extreme from a brief stint of indulgence. Living on detox tea and some sort of green-super-juice, spending my week beating myself up in practice and countless hours on an erg, watching the calories from each drop of chocolate and cream slowly perspire from my body.

For me, it's about making conscious choices, and knowing that a treat is a treat for that very reason. I'm only human, I have desires and sometimes it's worth satiating those desires to take a little gluttonous pleasure or solace in life - as long as that doesn't become the standard practice.

Now, about that pint of Ben & Jerry's sitting in my fridge...

Class# 207; AYC DC Mysore Class # 56: Just Relax

This morning's practice I felt as though I was, to borrow from a southern friend of mine, moving through cotton.

I was stiff. Really stiff.

I could easily blame it on those divine bourbon and gingers on Friday night or the 6 minute mile I ran paced by the MetroBus on Friday morning, but I think blaming either of those would be nothing more than excuses.

Today's practice just generally happened - 5 Sun As, 5 Sun Bs and just moved through my practice with general resistance of both my shoulders and hips. I felt moderately strong, just couldn't translate strength into flexibility. As I moved into Kurmasana, I could feel D beginning to hover. "Great," I thought, "I'm stiff, there's no way I'm getting Supta Kurmasana today. D is going to push and stuff me into position like an overstuffed pillow, doomed to dramatically spill out of my seams." I could feel a cry of agony already welling up in my throat.

Then I found myself at SK. Normally D or K will push my left shoulder under my left leg, right shoulder under right leg and cross my ankles. Then my arms will be pulled so that my fingertips just graze each other, I'll take one breath and my ankles will uncross but my hands will be clasped. They will recross my ankles and my hands will spring apart. On multiple occasions D has expressed that he thinks I theoretically have the flexibility for this pose - I'm inclined to agree with him.

D calmly walked over, got my legs into position, put his hand on the middle of my back and told me, "Relax. Stop fighting the pose." Grasped my hand pulled them together and I clasped them. I started to feel every limb spring apart. He returned his hand to my back lightly pressed and rocked me back and forth, "Relax." I think there was a little bit of pleased laughter there.

And he walked away.
Leaving me, relaxed, bound, and stunned.

We all have our tar-babies, whether they are poses or something else, when you stop fighting and relax, the solution appears and it's fairly simple to get unstuck. (And more often than not, the result is quite surprising .)

Moral of this story. Just relax.

Food Friday: Dark-Chocolate-Ginger-Biscotti

Yesterday the Mathematician inquired as to the difference between a bog post and a blog post. Tuesday was a long day. I was tired. I was stressed out. Did I mention it was a long day? She also asked about this dark-chocolate-ginger-biscotti I keep on mentioning in my blog.

Of late, baking biscotti seems to have become my I've had a bad practice / day at work or I'm stressed out quick comfort remedy. Instead of just sitting in stewing in my day, I've found it's great to turn that energy into something positive. Baking anything that involves the use of my hands, ginger, and chocolate and some level of messiness - is pretty much guaranteed to lighten my mood. How can you not laugh at yourself when you go to get ready for bed and notice a large smear of chocolate on your forehead?

Besides being lots of fun to make, the smell of the dark chocolate and ginger permeate every corner of my apartment for at least two days. Waking up to the smell of dark chocolate and ginger is absolutely amazing. Almost as good as a hot and spicy rooibos chai latte. I've found these biscotti are great enjoyed with any black tea, CoffeeShop girl with her coffee, and actually they are quite good when soaked in (rice) milk.

Dark-Chocolate-Ginger Biscotti

• 1/2-2/3 cup crystallized ginger coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup coco powder
• 1 1/2 cup bread machine flour
• 2/3 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp baking power
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 cup safflour oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until well combined; set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. The volume should about double in size and then beat in vanilla and oil until well combined.

Slowly add dry ingredient mixture. It will become really thick, sticky and goopy. I'll scrape down the sides of the bowl and the mixer attachment with a rubber spatula multiple times. Then with the mixer on the lowest setting I'll add the ginger allow that to fully incorporate and then fully incorporate the chopped dark chocolate chips.

Once incorporated remove bowl from mixer, set next to baking sheet. Moisten hands under faucet with lukewarm water and scoop out half of the mixture with your hands.* Form dough into 2 logs about 9' long by 2 - 2.5 inches wide and lightly smooth out top surface with water.**

Move to oven and bake until set on top, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and move logs to cooling rack for 10 minutes. (Here I switch out the parchment paper for my sili-mat which really helps crisp up the cookies in the final bakings). Once 10 minutes have passed, move logs to cutting board and cut them on a diagonal with a serrated knife (those electric knives are great for this providing quick clean cuts) about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick.

Place cookies back on baking sheet and return to oven for 8 - 10 minutes. Open oven and flip cookies over. Continue baking for 8 minutes. I've found that the cookies don't need to be cooked as long on the second side and are more likely to be bunt, so keeping an eye on them at this point is a good idea.

Remove from oven, move to wire rack and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

According to most recipes, they will last up to a week in an airtight container. In my experience they've been consumed within 4 days...so I cannot report on shelf life.





* In my first biscotti baking attempt, I didn't take the recipes I looked at seriously about dampening your hand with water. But no - it is actually quite helpful when forming the dough. Unless you want to be licking biscotti dough off of you hands for the rest of the evening - this is very useful.

** I prefer making two logs instead of one. You can also make one log, about 3 1/2 inches wide, but in the later baking steps, it's easier for me to manage the two small logs and results in crisper biscotti. Also, because there is more surface area they cool / can be enjoyed sooner.

When the rough gets going on a Tuesday morning, this little ashtangi...

...wakes at 5:00am, rolls over and goes back to sleep, reluctantly waking at 7:30am.


...bakes double-dark-chocolate-ginger biscotti after a long day at the office.


...writes a bog post and promptly crashes into bed.