make your own Mala - asana

Malasana ~ Garland Pose ~ Squat

Mala: Garland or Necklace

A Mala is the name for the buddhist prayer beads. Made from 108 beads, a mala is used as a tool to keep count of the number of times a mantra has been repeated by touching each bead per mantra, slowly moving along the necklace. By using the mala one doesn't have to focus on keeping count, there is a guru bead of different size or texture to signify a full 108 repetitions have been completed. 

In traditional Buddhist thought, people are said to have 108 afflictions or klesas. There are six senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness) multiplied by three reactions (positive, negative, or indifference) making 18 "feelings." Each of these feelings can be either "attached to pleasure or detached from pleasure" making 36 "passions", each of which may be manifested in the past, present, or future. All the combinations of all these things makes a total of 108, which are represented by the beads in the ojuzu. This same number is also used in Japanese New Year services where a bell is rung 108 times. –– Wikipedia

This mala has numerous marker beads.

Make your own mala necklace with beads or gems you love ~ you certainly do NOT have to don those unsightly brown beads with the red thread! Use the above as a guide or one marker bead is fine too: whatever get you meditating.

Janu Sirsasana & real simple dinner tonight

Janu Sirsasana ~ Head to Knee Forward Bend

Janu: Knee

Genou (jenoo): french for Knee

Sirsa: Head

Making dinner at home always makes a big difference to how I feel. It is a project that is finished within hours or minutes with benefits that are reaped almost immediately and if the results aren't perfect there is always tomorrow. With practice, cooking becomes a daily accomplishment with instant gratification.

Kyleigh Kuhn courtesy of altamira

I have found that the forgiving and few-ingredient recipes from Martha Stewart's Real Simple and Vegetarian Times magazines make nightly at-home dining possible. Magazine recipes also keep life current and seasonal. With my lenient schedule I enjoy shopping as the French do nearly everyday buying only what I am missing for that evening's concoction and going to the market or specialty store most compatible with the required ingredients. If you do not have this luxury, which occasionally I don't have the patience for either, write down the ingredients for 5 dinners and buy those together. Write and organize your list because you are likely to have lots of overlaps or can make substitutions for multi-use. For example, you don't need pecorino for spring pasta and parmesan for bean soup. Choose one. (I like pecorino because it is tangier and creamier, and is made from sheep's milk, which is said to be more easily digestible.) I could go on forever about food! So...


In summation: check out the recipes in Real Simple magazine, realsimple.com, or Vegetarian Times and shop with specificity! Forethought might even give you the chance to go to specialty stores or farmer's markets.

Creamy Fettuccine with corn and Arugula, courtesy of Real Simple

A few favorites:

Real Simple: great website if you don't want/get the mag.

• Thai Curry Vegetable and Tofu Soup with soba noodles or rice noodles cooked in the soup.
• Roasted Sausage and Grapes with roasted potatoes and lemon with dill
• Fettuccine with Lima beans. Peas and Leeks or corn and arugula (Lighten up! I use a lemon/parmesan sauce or creme fraiche if I'm not feeling the cream. Creme fraiche can be bought at Trader Joe's.)

Vegetarian Times: I find the website pretty annoying, and I do only the real-life mag.

• Sugar Snap and Snow Pea Stir Fry
• Strawberry Rhubarb Tart with Apricot Cream (May issue, not yet online.)

Courtesy of Audrey Kitching

Hanumanasana

Hanumanasana ~ Splits

Hanuman: Monkey-faced Hindu Diety

This pose is no easy feat, and if you are unable to take full position it is truly a great pose to come face-face with your ego. How do react when you know exactly where it is you want to get to, but you are not there? What arises? Pain? Agitation? Anger? Frustration? Watch your reactive and emotional selves and learn. Can you find peace where you are in Hanumanasana right here right now?

Full 'flower' moon from my deck. 

fun with google & full moon

Yoga doodle girls get down with google. 

Full Moon Tuesday! This photo is taken from our deck in SD. 

Halasana and thyroid health

Halasana ~ Plow

Hala: Plow

Hollah! I love this pose. This pose stimulates the THYROID. The thyroid gland, found in the neck, makes proteins, controls how much energy we use and controls our sensitivity to other hormones –– by producing it's own hormones which regulate our metabolism. 

In halasana your feet do not need to touch the floor behind your head, it is more important that you keep the legs straight. In the morning, especially, when we tend to be stiffer, do not push this pose hard or far. There is never a need to "push!" yourself in order to reap the benefits of yoga. If you are an A type and this compassionate approach sounds outlandish to you just think of all the time you will waste recovering from an injury. 

The thyroid gland is shaped like a butterfly; let us discuss The Butterfly Effect:

In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions; where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. For example, the presence or absence of a butterfly flapping its wings could lead to creation or absence of a hurricane. ––wikipedia.com

 

There is no insignificant action. Recall that every action has a consequence far beyond your understanding and be present in your decisions. J and I watched the documentary Food inc. last night. Although I would recommend any of Michael Pollan's books over this film, I appreciated the reminder of how important our role is as consumers. Keep in mind the ripple effect of your behavior the next time you are at the grocery store. 

Michael Pollan food rule #39: Eat all the junk food you like, as long as you cook it yourself.

You do not need to eat 'perfectly,' just be aware and above all enjoy yourself. I love to bake--- CLICK for some of my favorite recipes.

Gomukhasana and Sugar Cookies

Gomukhasana ~ Cow Face Pose

Go: Cow
Mukha: Face

Somehow this pose looks like a cow face; the arms are the ears? The legs the lips? Boobs the eyes? If anyone knows... please shed some light on this for me, it has long been a source of wonderment.

Kelly Wearstler's Hue is my latest book love. 

J and I have a busy summer lined up and so, of course, when we don't have our feelers out for, or, at least, have loosened our grasp on 'career/future/money' the propositions are pouring in. Between the two of us, we have been offered four jobs in less than one week, and turning them down in a time where most of us will take anything we can get. The elusive butterfly: chase it and it eludes you, sit still and it will land on your shoulder.

Aparigraha is the yogic term for non-grasping. While opening your hips and shoulders in Cow Face Pose take big exhales out of your mouth and meditate on the concept of letting go.

Use the mantra "so hum," "I am that," repeating out loud or silently "so" on the inhale and "hum" on the exhale. (If you know the "So Hum," chant you are welcome to repeat that.) A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of creating transformation.

If you like, you may fold forward in this pose and place your head on the floor beyond your knees or on a block, but please be sensitive to your shoulders. I recommend holding for about 5 minutes after warming up, and do both sides equally.

"Super Market" Sugar Cookies

These are fluffy like the ones you would get in the store, but sans additives and preservatives. They are certain to impress your friends. They are not very sweet and after taking this picture I glazed them with a simple powdered sugar + milk + vanilla extract mixture using a paint brush. A sugary topping of some sort is a must.

4 cups Flour
1 tspn Baking Powder
1/2 tspn Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 tspn Nutmeg (I only had and used pumpkin pie spice.)
1 cup Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 Egg
1 tspn Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Sour Cream (I only had and used plain yogurt.)

1. Sift together first 5 ingredients.
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Beat in egg, vanilla, and sour cream.
4. Combine dry and wet ingredients.
5. Wrap in saran wrap and chill overnight.*
----
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
7. Roll dough out (I used a wine bottle) on a floured surface.
          -Work quickly.
          - Leave a little thicker if you would like the store-bought cake-like effect.
8. Cut into desired shapes.
9. Bake on un-greased cookie sheet for 7-10 minutes.
          -The perfect amount of time to meditate or try a yoga pose. 
10. Cool. Decorate.

*Make the dough into a cutable roll like Mr Pillsbury if your not much for rolling or don't have any cookie cutters. Or make balls and flatten... anything is possible. Also, you do not need a mixer or fancy equipment. Elbow grease will get you where you want to go and burn some cookie calories in the process.

Garudasana and Farmer's Market Soup

Garudasana ~ Eagle

Garuda: King of the Birds, Devourer

The animal diety Garuda is said to be born with a great hatred for evil and roams about the universe devouring the bad. Use Garudasana to feel strength in balance and to expel negativity. 

Astrid Kirschenbaum in Maui wearing ener~chi tie-dye pants, also shown on doodle. 

Dinner Tonight –– Fresh from the Farmer's Market! Try buttery, nutty, creamy Fava Beans. 

Fava Bean Soup

2 cups Fava Beans (about 2 lbs in shell.)

1 cup chopped White Onion

2 1/2 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

1. Remove beans from pods. 

2. Blanch beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. 

3. Saute the onions in olive oil, season with salt.

4. Stir in chicken stock, bring to a simmer.

5. Add fava beans, simmer until tender.

6. Add parmesan. 

7. Pureé.

8. Season with lemon juice and pepper. 

Hana Highway, Maui

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana ~ One-legged King Pigeon Pose ~ Half Pigeon

I drew this on the plane ride to Maui on Easter Sunday. The stewardesses wore bunny ears.

Eka: One

Pada: Leg or Foot

Raja: King

Kapota: Pigeon or Dove

Yes, some sanskrit names are long, but they are worth learning and here is why. Sanskrit's is made of primordial sounds that manifest their true meaning. It is said that the vibrations created by the carefully chosen sounds (the word sanskrit means "refined,") resonate that which they speak of. In this rich, rhythmic and musical language –– "the spiritual language of the world' –– each written character is always pronounced the same way making it simple to learn and pronounce. 

"Sanskrit is constructed like geometry and follows a rigorous logic. It is theoretically possible to explain the meaning of the words according to the combined sense of the relative letters, syllables and roots. Sanskrit has no meanings by connotations and consequently does not age." ––Alain Danielou

I have always been especially drawn to Eka Pada Rajakapotasana. While researching it's benefits I discovered that it has therapeutic applications for urinary disorders, which I happen to put up with. Sometimes you need and love a pose without knowing why –– something beyond your reasoning tells you to practice the asana and practically puts your body in the position without the involvement of your mind. When you listen to and act upon this deeper intuition you are truly doing yoga.  

When we are sleeping, we often take positions that attempt to correct issues from our day-to-day habits. Sleeping on your back with your hands behind your head, elbows bent at the sides as though you are relaxing at the beach, for example, loosens tense Trapezius muscles. 

Dhanurasana

Dhanurasana ~ Bow

Dhanu: Bow

Be sure to protect your low back here, though you may have a bendy spine, don't be a show off! Prevent pain in your sacrum by keeping the knees from splaying out wide. This ballerina could probably take Dhanurasana a lot 'further', bringing her legs and head higher, even together. But she knows that yoga is not about capturing a dramatic picture. She is practicing restraint. Try it. In fact, a lot of ballerinas find yoga later in life and use it to correct a lifetime of over-stretching, their yoga is all about pulling back and pulling it in.

Yoga is all about you. Forget everyone else in the room and do what feels right. I injured myself in this pose during a Bikram class and though it has been years since, I still approach Dhanurasana with caution, if at all. The body remembers.

Dandasana

Dandasana ~ Staff Pose 

Danda: Staff, central "Spine" of the body

Do not be fooled by how easy this pose looks, go ahead, try it out now, sit awhile. Feeling it yet? This pose is excellent for strengthening the back and improving posture, but requires fairly limber hamstrings. It is better to have a straight back and bent legs than vice-versa, so go ahead and soften those knees or prop your butt up with a pillow/block/coffee-table-book. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Chaturanga Dandasana

Chaturanga Dandasana ~ Low Plank ~ Four-Limbed Staff Pose

Chatur: Four
Anga: Limb
Danda: Staff, Spine

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." –– The White Queen, Alice in Wonderland.

While in Maui, Paia to be exact, I bought a pair of earrings from 'Alice in Hulaland'! I didn't even realize the fantastical name until I was reviewing my bank statements...

From A Year of Living Your Yoga, one of my go-to yoga books:
Clarity about money is another form of yoga practice. Our beliefs about money often contribute to our suffering. Plan a time right now to sit down and look with clarity at your financial life. When you do, celebrate the things you like, and make a plan to deal with the things you don't. 

“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.” ––The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Translation by Sri Swami Satchidananda