When you go through yoga teacher training, there’s a lot of discussion on what you should and shouldn’t do. You learn phrases like “roll your shoulders away from the ears”, “breathe into your hips”, and “tighten the pelvic floor”. (You’re doing each of these now, aren’t you?) You learn to ask before touching a student, and that firm touch is good and caressing soft-touch is kind of creepy. You learn about bandhas and ohm-ing and how to say, “Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana”. But they don’t really cover music, other than to say it’s kind of up to you whether you play it or not. Music falls into that category known as “finding your authentic voice as a teacher.”

I wish my teacher voice was contemplative, peaceful and had more sitar or harmonium. Sadly, though, I’ve found I’m more “Kung Fu Fighting” than Krishna Das. I can’t help it. I love creating playlists full of songs that dictate the energy in the room and that make students laugh when the yoga gets challenging. Its a sensory way to remind students that a regular yoga practice is both a tool for reflection and self-study, as well as a chance to release their stress and engage with their world. Plus I find it easier to hold a chair pose when you get to do a fancy martial arts kick on your way to standing.

Last week, my Wednesday night HWY students were talking about the goofy crap that erupts from my iPod, and it ended in a playlist creativity dare, and this is the result:

Yoga Country
Treefingers – Radiohead
The Grass is Blue – Norah Jones
Jolene – Mindy Smith
Burn Down the Trailer Park – Paul Thorn
Harper Valley PTA – Martina McBride
Rose Garden – Southern Culture On The Skids
Gunpowder and Lead – Miranda Lambert
Fist City – The Little Willies
SOS – The Meat Purveyors
Little Ways – Dwight Yoakam
Cowboy Man – Lyle Lovett
More Man – The Meat Purveyors
Something Stupid – The Mavericks
Tequila Is Good For The Heart – Paul Thorn
Run – George Strait
Paper Wings – Gillian Welch
Shanti (Peace Out) – MC Yogi

The early reviews are positive. Eureka! Perhaps I’ll add a little “Boot Scoot Boogie” and “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” to the next one.

Most people think I am picky. Not a picky eater (there are only four or five foods I really won’t eat) but particular about how certain things should be. So here is my pickiness for the day: I don’t think one should post links to a recipe unless one has actually made said recipe, hopefully several times, and heartily recommends it. Otherwise, the only information getting conveying is that the pictures made the food look yummy, and I don’t envision that to be helpful to anyone.

In that spirit, I am sharing a go-to recipe that I culled from Bon Appetit years ago. I actually lost it for about a year—it is written on a ripped up scrap of paper—and when I found it again I was excited in a way that most people reserve for winning a few hundred bucks at a casino. In my fantasies I make this every Sunday morning, drinking strong coffee and reading the New York Times travel section, but in real life I make it probably once a month and wish I did more often.

Why make granola? 1. You know exactly what is in it. 2. It makes a lot! 24 ounces, or 50-100% more than a typical box/pouch of granola. 3. It will save you money, particularly if you buy the fancy granola. Need more reasons? 4. Endless flexibility and variety. Don’t like almonds? Use pecans. (oooh – or how about hazelnuts?) Got extra dried blueberries? Toss those bad boys in. 5. No packaging to throw away! 6. My house smells amazing right now.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a big bowl, combine:

5 cups regular or thick cut oatmeal
1 cup chopped nuts (or sliced almonds—no chopping!)
½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ tsp salt (it does makes a difference in the flavor, so try to leave it in)
1/8 tsp cinnamon (I often double this)

Now, in a small saucepan on medium heat, mix:

1/3 c. vegetable oil
¼ c. honey

Let the mixture warm up and coalesce (it won’t combine per se but it will melt together). Remove from heat and stir in:

4 tsp vanilla

Pour the hot mixture over the oats and nuts, mix well, and empty all onto a large baking sheet. Place in your oven for 30 minutes, reaching into the oven with a long spoon and mixing the granola twice during that time to promote even browning. Take out of the oven and cool for ten minutes. Stir in:

3/4c – 1c chopped dried fruit/shredded coconut/sunflower seeds/whatever

Keeps well in a Ziploc bag or lidded container, once completely cooled.

It is the time of year when many of us make resolutions to be more active. But if your current idea of activity involves wrangling the remote control, jumping into a rigorous exercise program can do more harm than good. Here are four reasons to give yoga a try this resolution season:

Yoga can be done by anyone—truly anyone. We know a teacher who gives private yoga lessons to a bedridden woman. How can she do yoga? Coordinating breath with movement, emptying the mind of distractions, concentrating on extending muscles and moving joints (the facility of which increases with practice) are the foundations of the physical part of yoga. These are things that can be done on the bus, in your office, or in the bed that you rarely leave. I need a whole other blog to rant against the sexualization of yoga in our culture, the lack of diversity of the people on the cover of yoga magazines, etc. But in the real world, yoga is done by paraplegics, people with MS, and nonagenarians. It is done by athletes, veterans, and toddlers. Yoga isn’t just for skinny young women in expensive workout pants. It is for you.

Yoga is a gentle way to begin getting more active. In addition to stretching the muscles, yoga also lubricates the joints and develops balance. Holding up the weight of your own body in the poses builds strength, while moving more rapidly through the postures can elevate your heart rate. We like to call yoga a “gateway exercise”, so while yoga can be the entirety of a successful fitness program, it can also give you a base of flexibility, coordination, strength and endurance to try other types of activities.

Yoga may improve some disease conditions and symptoms. It has been shown effective for reducing pain during activity and increasing range of motion in sufferers of osteoarthritis. Two small studies showed that a yoga regimen can reduce high blood pressure and also reduce the number of interventions required to manage coronary heart disease. Yoga has been shown to cut the number of asthma attacks and the need for drug intervention in managing asthma. It’s not a miracle cure, but the combination of physical activity and stress reduction seems to have a positive impact on some diseases, with research ongoing.

Yoga can keep you young. Yup, I said it. From the textbook Human Anatomy and Physiology, “Exercise that coaxes joints through their full range of motion…is the key to postponing the immobilizing effects of aging on ligaments and tendons, to keeping cartilages well nourished, and to strengthening the muscles that stabilize the joints.” Additionally, the rib cage becomes more rigid with age, which causes shallow breathing and humped-over posture. Deep, controlled breathing is the only exercise that the muscles between the ribs get, and a regular yoga practice can keep those muscles supple for the long haul.

So give a yoga class a try. You won’t have to chant, or bend into impossible positions, or buy a whole new workout wardrobe. Come as you are—yoga will take you.

References:
Garfinkel MS, Schumacher HR Jr, Husain A, Levy M, Reshetar RA. The Journal of Rheumatology [1994, 21(12):2341-2343].
Patel C, North WRS. Randomised controlled trial of yoga and biofeedback in management of hypertension. The Lancet, 306, 7925, 93-95.
Manchanda SC, Narang R, Reddy KS, Sachdeva U, Prabhakaran D, Dharmanand S, Rajani M, Bijlani R The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India [2000, 48(7):687-694]
Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985;291:1077

In addition to being a yoga instructor and studio owner, I am pursuing a Masters in Nutrition from Eastern Michigan University. So when I learn things in class that I think you’d want to know, I promise to share them here.  All of the information I provide below is straight from my textbooks. Read More »

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We hate it.

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Here at Ganesha our studio speaks for itself, it’s beautiful and friendly. The colors we chose are bright and inviting.
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