yogue

Embracing the Age of Aquarius

Yogue — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:37:13 +0000

“Welcome to 2012, a time of transformation, change and new consciousness. You roll your eyes as you read this. Welcome to another new year, you think. This is the year when everything is going to be perfect, your new years’ resolutions are going to stick and the next 365 days are going to be better, more creative, and more satisfying for you, your family and everyone you love and care about, way more than the previous year, and yes, we’re going to achieve world peace as well. Before you unleash your innercynic, hang in there for a moment and breathe. “

That’s an excerpt from a recent piece I wrote for the wonderful Asia Spa Magazine, which is based out of Hongkong. Not merely a showcase of fluffy spa profiles, the magazine has creative, inspiring and thought provoking articles under the helm of it’s current editor Rebecca Walker. I am so happy to have a lead story in the January 2012 issue, a story that marks my re-entry into the world of writing after the birth of my baby son ten months ago. I hope that you enjoy it. And yes, happy new year!!!

Green Your Halloween!!!

Yogue — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 06:16:38 +0000

Afraid of going to your Halloween party dressed as a witch or a pirate for the umpteenth time, but don’t want to splurge for a new costume? Never fear, you’re not alone. Local eco online store Lavish + Lime is here to help!

At Lavish + Lime’s First Annual “Eek-O Friendly” Costume Swap, organized in conjunction with the Lynn Canyon Ecology Center, you can bring a previously used costume to donate or swap and walk out with a “new” to you costume perfect for your Halloween soiree. Good for the planet and for your pocketbook! And how… according to www.Use-Less-Stuff.com, swapping half the costumes kids wear at Halloween would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equal to the weight of 2,500 midsize cars!

Yikes, you better get up to the Eek-O Friendly swap pronto.

Details:

Vancouver’s First Annual Eek-O Friendly Costume Swap

When? Saturday, October 15th, 9am-1pm

For more information call: 778-340-5463 or visit www.lavishandlime.com.
Show up with either a costume to swap or donate and receive $5 OFF any Lavish & Lime purchase of $45 or more. Adult and kids costumes welcome, but all must be on a hanger and clean. That means, no vampire blood stains etc, got it

Bliss “ball” ology…!

Yogue — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:29:10 +0000

If you know me, you know that I love cooking and eating whole, natural foods, which is why I am so excited about the Blissology Project Commitment #4: eating food that’s high on the pranameter(TM). It makes sense, right? If we eat food that comes from a natural, prana (energy) filled source (ideally no factories between you and your food) we are going to be more radiantly alive?

To celebrate that awesome connection between this simple idea: we are what we eat, here’s a recipe for some blissology “bliss” balls, made with organic, raw ingredients and a whole lotta love.

Speaking of which, I love bliss balls. I think the first super-awesomely healthy one I ever had was at Capers on W. 4th Avenue in Kitsilano, before Capers was bought out by Wild Oats, and then of course by Whole (Paycheck) Foods! I loved the cocoa ones, because of the rich, decadent chocolate-y taste, the flaky coconut and yet the healthy sweetness of no artificial sugar, just some good, whole foods.

I’ve experimented with various recipes since then. These are my current favorites. If you’re a busy mom, yogi, tri-athlete or simply just someone like the rest of us, on the go, try these bliss balls as a to-go snack. They’re great for kids, perfect for a long bike ride, hike or just simply as an anytime/anywhere energy boost.

Full of rich antioxidants like walnuts, lemon zest, dates, raw cocoa powder, cocoa nibs and coconut, they are also easy to make. Sometimes I add cinnamon and dried powdered ginger to them, sometimes cardamom, sometimes a hint of chipotle chili pepper to speed up your metabolism and add some heat. It all depends! Lemon juice and zest really uplifts the taste – I got this handy tip from my good friend the lovely natural foods chef Judy Chambers, and I have to say, I do think these are actually better than those Caper’s bliss balls now!

Let me know what creative variations you come up with!!! Lavender anyone?

Insiya’s Bliss “ball” ogy Bliss Balls:
1 cup raw organic walnuts (or almonds or cashews)
1/2 cup shredded organic coconut
1/4 cup raw organic coconut oil (softened)
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder (i like the cocoa camino brand)
handful of cocoa nibs (navitas is yummy)
zest from 1 organic lemon
juice from 1 organic lemon
healthy pinch of sea salt
handful of mejdool dates (or other soft dates) de-seeded
spices to taste

Method:
Coarsely chop dates, add everything into a food processor, process until the mixture gets thick and clumpy. I like it a bit granular, not too smooth, so a few minutes is usually about all you need. Taste for sweetness and spice / flavor. Adjust accordingly and pulse a few more times if you need to. Then empty the mixture out into a bowl or large rimmed plate. Form into little balls in your palms and roll in a plate of shredded coconut. Place on a platter or in a box within layers of parchment paper and chill.

And do try to restrain yourself from eating them all at once!

fall blissology: transformative + powerf

Yogue — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:00:11 +0000

fall blissology: transformative + powerful YES (yoga.ecology.surf) retreats with @eoinfinnyoga and moi, in Bali or Tofino http://ow.ly/6osPt , few spots still left!

Happy Canada Day!

Yogue — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:52:11 +0000

Cru, in Silver Lake, LA

July 1st is already here, which in Canada is the celebration of Canada Day, in the time honored tradition of Canadian holidays and American holidays being, you know, a few days apart!

By now, even the far north should be in the midst of summer, bbqs abound and the days go on forever, well at least until ten o’clock at night, which is one of the things that I cherish about living on the 49th parallel.

summer = local strawberries

Today, perhaps it was the day’s red and white theme, but I thought about strawberries – they are fresh and luscious right now – and the local berries from BC are beginning to trickle in, which always makes me smile. Strawberries evoke summer to me, their sweet tart juiciness and their bright summer colour. And while I love strawberries on granola, in smoothies, just by themselves and yes sometimes with creme fraiche, here’s a recipe that that I tried to recreate at home, in memory of a meal I tasted a few months ago at a delicious vegan / raw restaurant in Silverlake, Los Angeles, called Cru.

It is a tasty raw, strawberry ice cream. Raw, yes, made with nuts and fruit and if you need it a natural sweetener. Delicious, guilt free and tasting of summer. And a perfect choice during hot weather when our bodies can handle foods that cool our system down and bring it into balance.

Raw Strawberry Icecream

Raw Strawberry Ice Cream

1 cup raw cashews – soaked for 3 -4 hours or better still, overnight. Soaked, and then rinsed.
2 cups ripe strawberries – tops hulled
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk(made from fresh coconut ideally) – You can also substitute with a nut milk such as almond milk.
1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup.
Lemon juice and zest of 1/4 lemon

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Taste for sweetness, adjust according to the sweetness of the fruit. Add a little bit of lemon juice and lemon zest. Put in an airtight box and freeze. Remove periodically, ever few hours should be great – remix and replace in the freezer. You could also use an ice-cream maker if you own one (I don’t). The resulting creamy, ice cream should be ready within 24 hours.

To serve, fan-slice some strawberries and place on top. Garnish with a basil leaf.

Enjoy.

Cell phones + cancer: a postmodern survival guide

Yogue — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:01:04 +0000

The World Health Organization announced yesterday that cell phones can possibly cause cancer. Whether you’re rolling your eyes, or sitting upright in disbelief, you are probably paying attention. Yes, this is important to our health, especially given that currently, worldwide, there are 5 billion cell phones in service, this amongst a global population of a little over 6 billion.

As one of my favourite eco-living sites, inhabitat.com; reported: “The announcement is based upon a series of studies that have been peer-reviewed by a group of 31 scientists from 14 countries working with the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The team found that non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones is “possibly carcinogenic to humans – a reversal of the WHO’s previous assertions that no adverse health effects have been established for mobile phone us.”

We live in a digital age. And cell phones have become indispensable to most of our lives. And yet, I always wonder, hundred years hence, will another generation observing how we did things in the “now” think us so ignorant and oblivious to the effects of cell phone radiation?

Whether you are surprised by the outcome of this research or indifferent to it, here are a few tips you can use to minimize your exposure to cell phones.

1. Minimize your time on your phone. If you can, reach for a landline instead. Also, do not, please use cell phones at the dinner table and at restaurants, please leave the room to converse. I know this is more an etiquette thing, but it’s also respectful and allows you to focus on your call ( if it is so important that you need to interrupt your meal and conversation with real people for).

2. A corollary to #1, don’t give up your landline – this is often not even possible in so many developing countries such as India or South Africa, where mobile networks have quickly superseded withering land line networks.

3. Use a handset – This is so easy, but I’m guilty of misplacing mine all the time, but I’m going to keep one set at the ready on my phone always. This is, just so you know, a little nicer than putting your phone on speaker, and infiltrating your surrounding space with your conversation – something particularly popular on a crowded bus or subway car.

4. Get out into a no-cell zone often i.e. I’m talking big nature. I’m fortunate enough to live in a wild place where cell phone reception if often more off than on and while the transition from always being on in the city was at first frustrating, I’ve grown to appreciate our remoteness and un-reachability. It’s healthy to not always be available!

5. Think about communicating in other ways. Write handwritten notes, especially thank you notes, they are always appreciated.

6. Prioritize your life and expectations. What answers do you need immediately, like right now, and what can wait? Does everything require a phone ca

7. For social occasions like a dinner date, or yoga class or concert, try to make plans beforehand and stick to them and allow a buffer zone of five to ten minutes for your friend to arrive. Remember life before cell phones – we did survive.

8. Your cell phone is not a stand in for a date. If you’re waiting at a coffeeshop for a friend, put that iphone or blackberry away, who knows you might actually strike up a real conversation with your neighbour vs. a virtual one.

9. I always put this into everything i say, but it is true. Eat well. Food is our easiest and tastiest medicine. Eat healthful, immune boosting foods like lots of seasonal, organic vegetables, grains and if you eat meat, a little bit of pasture fed meat. Fortify yourself without the aid of sugar and junk food and you will be more resistant to the travails of our age.

10.Live in the real world! See friends in person, practice yoga with a community, eat in community without a lap top or cell phone as fill in company, listen to a great live concert and get outside, get moving and replenish your tech saturated cells with some real, live prana. While DVDS, podcasts and iphone apps that simulate tibetan singing bowls are all awesome, nothing comes close to the real, live things.

To cover or not to cover, the yoga towel update

Yogue — Sun, 22 May 2011 23:37:18 +0000

I am finally home, after three weeks exploring southern California with baby and husband in tow. The idea was to get away from the spring rain here in the northwest which has actually felt more like November rain recently; and to get in some yoga classes from some of my favourite teachers, oh yes and surf too.

One thing I didn’t count on however, was the added amount of luggage we had in tow, given our now three month old babe - half his bag really consisted of cloth diapers . And in the rush of leaving, I forgot to stuff my yoga mat into my suitcase and so I arrived in the Yoga-land of Venice, California; sans a mat to practice on. So instead of borrowing my husbands mat – he was with it enough to bring one – I put my new eQua yoga mat/towel that Manduka recently sent over, to use.

I’m a minimalist with my yoga practice, a mat and yoga strap is all I keep handy. Yet here was a microfibre towel with a difference, it contained yarn made from natural coconut fibre, with activated carbon to wick away moisture and bacteria.

So I tested it out, without reading the directions of use of course. This wasn’t such a great idea, as the mat towel is slippery when dry. You actually have to spray it gently with water to get a good, grippy feel. It worked fine on the floor, but was better on a carpet – I understand why hot yoga folks like these microfibre towels. And I do think it is a good travel prop, especially for the germophobes – to have your own cover to use on studio mats. It definitely works best when layered atop a mat and during a vigorous practice with some hand balances, I found that my palms did not get sweaty. So while I always tell students to root more with their hands, I would say this towel definitely can help. .

The towel comes in a few fun colours, I chose a pretty dusky pink, there’s also a beige and blue available.

eQua Plus towel @ Manduka: US$48
www.manduka.com

Hammock Enlightenment: A Mother’s Call to Action

Yogue — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:08:47 +0000

The wise yogi knows “the inaction that is in action, and the action that is in inaction.”

from the Bhagavad Gita

So much has happened this year already. Wars, retribution, elections, revolutions in the Middle East, earthquakes and tsunamis. Our world is turbulent right now. The time has come, as poet and activist Joanna Macy writes, for the Great Turning. We have a choice to move from a world centered solely around conventional economics – what author David Korten calls the Age of Empire – towards an Earth Community, a world where the values of community, sustainability and love inform our lives in a powerful way.

As I was bringing in a new baby into our world earlier this year, I couldn’t help but think that it is both a challenging as well as an imperative time to bring new, conscious souls into our universe. After all, we need some help don’t we, to move towards that Earth Community? I also felt strongly that in order to withstand the ebb and flow of our life in these challenging times, I had to turn toward a meditation practice, to find strength and peace.

Yogi, Blissologist, surfer and all around renaissance man, Eoin Finn, who, full disclosure here, also happens to be my husband, believes that you can find inner peace in a hammock. He calls it hammock enlightenment and says he discovered it while on one of our Yoga, Ecology + Surf retreats in Costa Rica, where he came closest to what he has sought for many years in his meditation practice.

Eoin recently gave a Ted Talk on why getting into a hammock can change our world.

“By slowing down, we become kinder, more compassionate beings” he says. “We start to pay attention to our relationships be they with our yoga practice, our intimate family, the food we eat, our communities and our environment.”

Don’t worry, I’m not just talking about an afternoon siesta, it’s about so much more.

Hammock Enlightenment in Vancouver, Canada

Hammock enlightenment is about being outside and experiencing the spirituality in nature, in becoming present to life as it unfolds. And yes, you can find it right in your own backyard or under a leafy tree on your city block, you don’t have to retreat to a forest, though sometimes that can help.

Says Eoin, “Hammock enlightenment is a pathway towards sustainability. We cannot protect our planet unless we truly feel what is sacred in it. We need to feel connected to something in order to want to safeguard it. We have to love something in order to fight for it.”

Mother’s Day is approaching. This year will be my first year to experience it on the other side. As I write this, I feel connected to my own mother, our lineage of mothers, and to our universal mother, the Earth. It is time, now more than ever to shower our Earth with that sacred love and connection she has so long cocooned us with. As James Cameron showed us in Avatar, the consequences of ignoring the heart of our planet are terrible. And as art mirrors life which mirrors art, we see aspects of this throughout our world. The planet is heating up, something’s brewing. We have to act now.

And sometimes action can mean the opposite of what you think, it can mean slowing down, so we can reset and begin to honestly evaluate our actions and create change.

Here’s Eoin’s talk. Listen and let me know if it inspires you.

Do you think slowing down is an antidote to our modern way of life?
Do you think slowing down will allow us to become more present, more kind and more connected to our communities and to our planet?
Do you think slowing down will allow us to change course?

Thank you for subscribing to this blog. I am going to do my utmost to sneak away during my baby’s naptime and post at least once and hopefully more each week!

namaste,

Insiya.

What’s for dinner?

Yogue — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 03:03:26 +0000

I’ve been quite under the radar for the past few months… wow is it April already… but with good reason, my husband and I are currently enjoying the sleepless wonderment of our new baby boy, born (we had a natural, home birth) in February of this year. While life with a baby is so many things, joy, bliss, tiredness, presence and a huge oxytocin enriched dosage of LOVE; it has also made me obsessed with food and eating better than ever before. As a breastfeeding mama, I am amazed that what I produce can feed a growing human being and eating well does take on a whole new meaning when you consider that what you eat is what your baby eats. I want food that ranks high on the Prana Meter as described by Yogi/ Blissologist Eoin Finn. With the added challenge of not having a lot of time on my hands, I’ve been on the hunt for nourishing, whole food recipes that are also quick to prepare.

Which brings me to my inspiration for today’s blog. How often are you at a loss to figure out what to make for dinner? Especially when you want it to be healthy, delicious and easy? I ask myself that question almost every day and I’ve found myself scouring through trusted cookbooks as well as looking to some exciting food blogs on the web for inspiration.

Here are my favorites in no particular order.

Cookbooks:

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

This is my tried and true cookbook, I love that it’s organized both by type of vegetable as well as an additional section on soups, salads, desserts etc. The recipes are healthy, flavourful and offer many practical tips, suggestions and variations. Former owner of Greens, vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco; Deborah Madison is an inventive cook and reaches far and wide into Asian, French, Mediterranean, Indian and latin cooking for influences. The result a book that serves as both an excellent reference book to broaden your world and a daily use cookbook, I absolutely love this one.

Hollyhock Cooks by Moreka Johar + Linda Solomon

Hollyhock is the Esalen of Canada. Situated above a stunning bay on Cortes Island off the east coast of Vancouver Island, Hollyhock boasts some lovingly tended, flourishing gardens that grow some of the most beautiful veggies I have seen. The cookbook focuses on seasonal, local produce with a north-western flavour as well as a wealth of healthy dishes from other cuisines. The recipes are easy to follow and most are quick. I’m in the midst of trying out their black bean soup with chipotle + orange, oh yes and cornbread too.

The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley

Fresh, focusing on technique and healthy food made from scratch – e.g. he recommends crushing your own grains for warm breakfast cereal – and teaches you how to make a sourdough starter for bread, this book is both an excellent manual for recipe inspiration as well as a Sunday afternoon read on eating sustainably. Berley was the chef at the excellent macrobiotic and vegetarian restaurant Angelica Kitchen in NYC. This book is fast becoming one of my go-to cookbooks.

Blogs:

The Yogi Kitchen

Founded by ashtanga yogi’s Adam Keen and Theresa who lived and ran the Purple Valley Yoga centre in Goa, India for many years, and are now in Tarifa, Spain via Vancouver, Canada (whew, and i though I lived a nomadic life ) – this is a great blog for those who want some wonderful Indian vegetarian and vegan recipes. Filled with videos and helpful tips, the recipes do require your stocking up on the necessary spices, but once you have those you are set to try some flavour explosions and infuse your week nights with a touch of the faraway.
yogikitchen.blogspot.com

101 Cookbooks

A site of recipes and blog posts about life and travel, this site is managed by Heidi Swanson, a writer, natural food afficionado and photographer who has penned at least two cookbooks including SuperNatural Cooking. I love the photographs on the site as well as recipes that are easy to follow and perfect for a weeknight. I tried this cauliflower with sesame a few weeks ago and it was delicious – the best part like all good Indian food, it tasted even better the day after.
101cookbooks.com

Goop by Gwnyth Paltrow

Focusing on travel, food and lifestyle, the multi-talented Paltrow’s recipe section does delight, especially because she happens to be chummy with some of the best chefs in the world. Make ricotta cheese from scratch, osso buco, or get a simple banana bread recipe, there is a gamut of ideas here. Check back often. She also has a new cookbook out, which I haven’t heard much about as yet.

What are some of your favorite natural food blogs or cookbooks?

reflection + renewal

Yogue — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:11:41 +0000

sublime wishes for the new year...

It has been a busy few weeks for me. As you can tell, I gave up the idea of updating a holiday wish list a week before Christmas, despite having a great list to share!

Traveling in the tropics with v. limited internet access was definitely a deterrent and then I also realized that if I spent all my precious vacation time on my lap top, i wasn’t present to the beauty around. Jet lag and the travel back – a long journey – to skirt through all the snow in europe, also delayed things… but I am happy to finally feel a little more settled and alive and healthy back in our northern pacific home.

It is probably as different as possible from where I grew up in India… as quiet as India is noisy, as treed as Bombay is bereft of foliage, and as cold as India is warm… both from the personalities of the people and the temperature.

As the countdown to the New Year has already touched so many places on our globe, my wish for this year, is to be able to take the time to reflect on changes, on connecting to our life missions, that deep place within us that informs all our goals; and to be hopeful in a world of chaos.

I was lucky to meet some super inspiring people over the course of my travels in India and Sri Lanka so I’ll try to share some of those stories over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I hope that you have time to savour these last few hours of the present year sharing stories and laughs with family and loved ones and can take a moment to wish this world peace and bliss. With our collective manifestation, who knows what could happen!

Namaste,

Insiya.