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“Yoga is like music. The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul creates the symphony of life.” - BKS Iyengar
Monday, 2 April 2012
Yoga is like music
“Yoga is like music. The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul creates the symphony of life.” - BKS Iyengar
More Karma Classes and New Classes at Urban Wellness Studio
I'm excited to announce that I will be starting to teach regular yoga classes at the beautiful Urban Wellness Studio! The space is located inside of the Tannery Building in Kitchener, and is bursting with vibrant energy.
Along with yoga, the studio offers pilates and bootcamp classes, as well as personal training, chiropractic care, physiotherapy and acupuncture. Their retail area also offers made-in-Canada fitness wear from Karma and Lolë (Live Out Loud Every day - my kind of mantra).
My schedule is listed under the Yoga Classes tab. All classes this week* (Thursday April 5 and Saturday April 7th) are Karma Classes. Pay is by-donation, with a minimum $5 to KidsAbility. Come to any or all of the classes to feel out the space!
*There will be no class on Friday, April 6th (holiday).
*There will be no class on Friday, April 6th (holiday).
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Karma Class at Urban Wellness Studio
I'm excited to announce that I'll be teaching a special class at Urban Wellness Studio in Kitchener this Friday, March 23rd at 5:30 pm. The 1-hour class will be in the Vinyasa style but suitable for all levels from beginner to intermediate yogi. Payment is by donation (minimum $5) and proceeds go to KidsAbility.
There only a small number of spots left, so leave a comment below to register, or e-mail info @ urbanwellnessstudio.ca (without spaces).
There only a small number of spots left, so leave a comment below to register, or e-mail info @ urbanwellnessstudio.ca (without spaces).
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Post-Yoga Euphoria and a Moksha Milkshake
I just got home from a fabulous class at Moksha Yoga. The theme was centered around this very special day - International Women's Day! In the past, I rarely heard about this occasion in Canada, but my family in Eastern Europe always made a big deal about it. It's a much bigger event in other places in the world than it is here. Either way, I had a very special day indeed. The Husband bought me flowers, but more importantly, he was willing to go to a hot yoga class with me for the very first time. We had a "hot" date! <3
We were asked in the class to picture a strong woman in our lives and dedicate our practice to her. I pictured my mom, the strongest woman I know and the woman I love most.
She is also the person who introduced me first to food, then healthy food, and most recently, extremely healthy food. We often share recipes, ideas, and new health-related research we've read. We've been learning from each other over the past couple of years about how to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. We're also yoga buddies and she's my favourite student.
After our sweaty class today, I was craving something fruity and citrus-y. Ok, DURING the class, images of frozen strawberries being chopped up in my blender were floating through my mind. As soon as I got home, I combined the ingredients below and chugged down. It was perfectly refreshing - an amazing recovery drink with electrolytes, a bit a protein and delicious fruit. Enjoy!
Strawberry Banana Moksha Milkshake
Serves 2
* 2 cups of water (coconut or plain)
* 3 Tbsp of hemp seeds
* 1 small handful of frozen strawberries
* 1+1/2 bananas
* 1/2 squeezed lemon
* a few drops of vanilla extract
Start by blending the hemp seeds with the water to make hemp milk. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, blend thoroughly and enjoy!!
There's no picture of this tonight because we drank it too darn fast. So good.
Happy Women's Day, ladies!
We were asked in the class to picture a strong woman in our lives and dedicate our practice to her. I pictured my mom, the strongest woman I know and the woman I love most.
She is also the person who introduced me first to food, then healthy food, and most recently, extremely healthy food. We often share recipes, ideas, and new health-related research we've read. We've been learning from each other over the past couple of years about how to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. We're also yoga buddies and she's my favourite student.
After our sweaty class today, I was craving something fruity and citrus-y. Ok, DURING the class, images of frozen strawberries being chopped up in my blender were floating through my mind. As soon as I got home, I combined the ingredients below and chugged down. It was perfectly refreshing - an amazing recovery drink with electrolytes, a bit a protein and delicious fruit. Enjoy!
Strawberry Banana Moksha Milkshake
Serves 2
* 2 cups of water (coconut or plain)
* 3 Tbsp of hemp seeds
* 1 small handful of frozen strawberries
* 1+1/2 bananas
* 1/2 squeezed lemon
* a few drops of vanilla extract
Start by blending the hemp seeds with the water to make hemp milk. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, blend thoroughly and enjoy!!
There's no picture of this tonight because we drank it too darn fast. So good.
Happy Women's Day, ladies!
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Power of Movement
This morning, I participated in a national fundraiser for arthritis and autoimmune disease research called the Power of Movement. At 11:00 am in locations across Canada, hundreds of people busted out their Warrior asanas in yoga Mega Sessions. The Kitchener-Waterloo location was in the main space (Rotunda) of the Kitchener City Hall! There's possibly no cooler place to take a yoga class in KW. The cylindrical space was bright, had high ceilings, and our center-facing class set up was community-building. The KW team raised over $13,000 and exceeded all expectations! The final numbers will be in tomorrow.
I had the privilege of helping the two co-teachers Meaghan (owner of Queen Street Yoga) and Ashley (owner of Moksha Yoga Waterloo) by assisting practitioners who needed a bit more guidance. There were families there with children, people with arthritis, seasoned practitioners as well as first-timers.
Watching everyone move together as a unit to the creative sequence by the two teachers was uh-mazing.
This weekend was very busy with POM-related activities. Yesterday morning (Saturday), I organized a Karma Yoga Class with the UW Yoga Club to help raise funds for the big event. As a result, here I am on Sunday evening completely pooped. Along with all of this fundraiser excitement, I went for a swim last night and a long walk today with the Husband.
We've been hungry. Cue the hearty chocolate pudding. Dun-da-ra-daaaaa!
So. Yummy.
The Husband was craving sweets and wanted to buy junk food on our way back from the walk. I resisted and promised a delicious pudding instead. When we got home, I needed to come through with the pudding so I browsed some of Angela's recipes from Oh She Glows. Everything on that website of hers is unbelievably delicious and usually very healthy, so she, of course, didn't disappoint. The recipe below is adapted from one of her chocolate chia pudding recipes.
Chia seeds are wonderfully filling, packed with healthy fats, antioxidants and protein! They also make a gel-like consistency when soaked in liquid. Hence, they make an awesome pudding base with no need for icky gelatin (cow bones, anyone?). You can buy them at health food stores or even at Bulk Barn. They're not cheap, but you won't use a lot for a particular recipe and they're totally worth it. Without further ado...the pudding!
Chocolate Chia Coconut Pudding
Adapted from Oh She Glows
Total time: ~ 10 mins
Serves 2
Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup chia seeds
* 1 + 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
* 1 Tbsp coconut oil
* 1 Tbsp coconut butter (creamed coconut)
* 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
* 1 Tbsp raw carob powder
* 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1 Tbsp agave nectar (raw honey or pure maple syrup work too)
1. In a small pot, melt the coconut oil on low heat (~ 3/10), then add the coconut butter and whisk to remove any clumps.
2. Add the non-dairy milk followed by the remaining ingredients (minus the 1 tsp chocolate chips) and continuously whisk while gently heating. You'll find that the pudding will thicken up quickly.
3. Once everything is homogeneous and the pudding is fairly thick (~ 3-5 minutes of heating), remove from heat and transfer to serving glasses (2).
4. Garnish with the remaining chocolate chips, and put the pudding into the fridge to set for a little while. We ate ours (impatiently) after about 10 minutes in the fridge. It was still warm, but the consistency of the pudding was just right.
The servings may seem small, but this pudding is super rich and will fill you up. It also tastes amazing, so it will quench that sweet tooth with nice, wholesome goodness.
I enjoyed this while smelling my simmering vegetarian chili. (I needed to mention that so you don't think I survive on smoothies and desserts!)
I had the privilege of helping the two co-teachers Meaghan (owner of Queen Street Yoga) and Ashley (owner of Moksha Yoga Waterloo) by assisting practitioners who needed a bit more guidance. There were families there with children, people with arthritis, seasoned practitioners as well as first-timers.
Watching everyone move together as a unit to the creative sequence by the two teachers was uh-mazing.
 |
| me and Mom after the Power of Movement class |
 |
| the fundraising team |
This weekend was very busy with POM-related activities. Yesterday morning (Saturday), I organized a Karma Yoga Class with the UW Yoga Club to help raise funds for the big event. As a result, here I am on Sunday evening completely pooped. Along with all of this fundraiser excitement, I went for a swim last night and a long walk today with the Husband.
We've been hungry. Cue the hearty chocolate pudding. Dun-da-ra-daaaaa!
 | |
| I'm still working on my photography skills... |
So. Yummy.
The Husband was craving sweets and wanted to buy junk food on our way back from the walk. I resisted and promised a delicious pudding instead. When we got home, I needed to come through with the pudding so I browsed some of Angela's recipes from Oh She Glows. Everything on that website of hers is unbelievably delicious and usually very healthy, so she, of course, didn't disappoint. The recipe below is adapted from one of her chocolate chia pudding recipes.
Chia seeds are wonderfully filling, packed with healthy fats, antioxidants and protein! They also make a gel-like consistency when soaked in liquid. Hence, they make an awesome pudding base with no need for icky gelatin (cow bones, anyone?). You can buy them at health food stores or even at Bulk Barn. They're not cheap, but you won't use a lot for a particular recipe and they're totally worth it. Without further ado...the pudding!
Chocolate Chia Coconut Pudding
Adapted from Oh She Glows
Total time: ~ 10 mins
Serves 2
Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup chia seeds
* 1 + 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
* 1 Tbsp coconut oil
* 1 Tbsp coconut butter (creamed coconut)
* 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
* 1 Tbsp raw carob powder
* 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1 Tbsp agave nectar (raw honey or pure maple syrup work too)
1. In a small pot, melt the coconut oil on low heat (~ 3/10), then add the coconut butter and whisk to remove any clumps.
2. Add the non-dairy milk followed by the remaining ingredients (minus the 1 tsp chocolate chips) and continuously whisk while gently heating. You'll find that the pudding will thicken up quickly.
3. Once everything is homogeneous and the pudding is fairly thick (~ 3-5 minutes of heating), remove from heat and transfer to serving glasses (2).
4. Garnish with the remaining chocolate chips, and put the pudding into the fridge to set for a little while. We ate ours (impatiently) after about 10 minutes in the fridge. It was still warm, but the consistency of the pudding was just right.
The servings may seem small, but this pudding is super rich and will fill you up. It also tastes amazing, so it will quench that sweet tooth with nice, wholesome goodness.
I enjoyed this while smelling my simmering vegetarian chili. (I needed to mention that so you don't think I survive on smoothies and desserts!)
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Buckwheat Banana Pancakes
I woke up this Saturday morning craving my typical weekend breakfast - healthy pancakes! I have a few recipes through which I rotate, but this morning I decided to try something new. I cracked open my covered-in-food Whole Foods to Thrive book by Brendan Brazier. It has over 200 healthy, vegan recipes in it, and they're super tasty as well. I've made a handful so far and I love them all. I decided to make the Buckwheat Banana Pancakes, but since I didn't have all of the ingredients at hand, I improvised a bit. Here's how it went down:
Buckwheat Banana Pancakes
Adapted from Whole Foods to Thrive
1 cup of buckwheat flour
1/4 cup of ground flaxseed
1/4 cup of quinoa flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 banana
2 cups filtered water
1/2 cup large oat flakes
In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients. In a separate, small bowl, crush the banana with a fork until pureed. Add the water to the banana, mix and add that wet mixture slowly to the dry ingredients. Once well combined, set the batter aside for 10-15 mins. This allows for the flax and oats to absorb some water and hold everything together nicely once cooked.
Lightly oil a pan with coconut oil (or canola if you don't have coconut) and heat over medium heat. Pour in the pancake batter to desired size and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until bubbles form and edges brown. Flip and cook another 2-3 mins on the other side.
This batch made about a dozen medium sized pancakes. It was enough to feed two hungry mouths with some leftovers for later. These pancakes aren't at all sweet, so top them with your favourite toppings (nut butter, maple syrup, jam, etc.). I spread some sunflower seed butter on two pancakes and drizzled maple syrup on top of that. Then I stacked 'em and ate with a fork. It was super delicious and nutritious!
Even my kitty Micko thought they smelled amazing!
Buckwheat Banana Pancakes
Adapted from Whole Foods to Thrive
1 cup of buckwheat flour
1/4 cup of ground flaxseed
1/4 cup of quinoa flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 banana
2 cups filtered water
1/2 cup large oat flakes
In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients. In a separate, small bowl, crush the banana with a fork until pureed. Add the water to the banana, mix and add that wet mixture slowly to the dry ingredients. Once well combined, set the batter aside for 10-15 mins. This allows for the flax and oats to absorb some water and hold everything together nicely once cooked.
Lightly oil a pan with coconut oil (or canola if you don't have coconut) and heat over medium heat. Pour in the pancake batter to desired size and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until bubbles form and edges brown. Flip and cook another 2-3 mins on the other side.
This batch made about a dozen medium sized pancakes. It was enough to feed two hungry mouths with some leftovers for later. These pancakes aren't at all sweet, so top them with your favourite toppings (nut butter, maple syrup, jam, etc.). I spread some sunflower seed butter on two pancakes and drizzled maple syrup on top of that. Then I stacked 'em and ate with a fork. It was super delicious and nutritious!
Even my kitty Micko thought they smelled amazing!
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Chococonut Smoothie
I made this one for the Husband and I for lunch. It was a hit!
* 2 cups coconut juice/water
* 1-2 handfuls Romaine lettuce
* 1.5 frozen bananas
* 2 Tbsp coconut butter
* 1 Tbsp maple syrup
* 1.5 Tbsp raw carob powder
Blend the Romaine with the coconut juice first. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend, blend, blend! The result is yummy, creamy and nutritious. The electrolytes from the coconut juice plus the simple carbs from the fruits+veggies (and maple syrup) are a perfect recovery boost just after a tough workout.
* 2 cups coconut juice/water
* 1-2 handfuls Romaine lettuce
* 1.5 frozen bananas
* 2 Tbsp coconut butter
* 1 Tbsp maple syrup
* 1.5 Tbsp raw carob powder
Blend the Romaine with the coconut juice first. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend, blend, blend! The result is yummy, creamy and nutritious. The electrolytes from the coconut juice plus the simple carbs from the fruits+veggies (and maple syrup) are a perfect recovery boost just after a tough workout.
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