Some like it hot… and I’m becoming one of them!

For the past three weeks I have been a faithful attendee of the 6AM hot yoga class at the Bikram Yoga Studio in Irvine, CA.  I had done a bit of Bikram Yoga this past summer, so I knew what to expect – 26 postures, each repeated twice, in a very specific sequence, bookended by two different breathing exercises, over the course of 90 minutes.  Oh, and the room is heated to 105 degrees and set at 40% humidity… Ya, I know, that’s what I thought at first too. 

The first time I did Bikram yoga, I couldn’t finish half the postures and for the two days following, I felt like had been hit by a mack truck.  I gave up after 3 classes.  But when I gave it a second try this summer, I began to like the heat and the sweat and the progress I made.  This time around, my most consistent effort yet, I believe I have discovered the magic of it.  I passed some sort of invisible boundary one day last week when, in the middle of class, drenched in sweat, lying in shavasana (corpse pose), I noticed how absolutely incredible I felt, like my insides had been washed clean and wrung out, and I knew in that moment, I had found the ‘it factor’ of Bikram yoga.

They say that the Bikram Method stimulates the organs, glands, and nerves – systematically circulating fresh, oxygenated blood to your entire body.

Birkram yoga reshapes your body, restores flexibility, strengthens your spine, provides relief from pain, increases your energy, reduces your stress, burns calories and builds endurance.

The heat allows for a safer, deeper practice by warming up the muscles and joints. It also helps to detoxify the body through sweat, strengthens your immune system, and promotes blood circulation by expanding the blood vessels.

One of the benefits for me has been a strengthening of my focus and determination.  I wanted more focus in my work, and now I use my yoga practice as an opportunity to build that muscle by maintaining stillness in the postures, moving efficiently between the postures, focusing my eyes on a fixed point in shavasana, and maintaining calmness of breath throughout the practice.

For all these reasons and more, I look forward to my 6AM yoga class, to seeing my Bikram yoga buddies, and to hearing that familar Bikram phrase… “lock your knee, lock your knee, last chance, lock – your – knee.”

What is the place where you experience that body, mind, spirit connection?  Is it through yoga, walking on the beach, running, Thai Chi?  What is the place where you are able to to connect your body movement to your breath, and engage the focus and concentration of your mind?

Today’s Observations
My yoga teacher (Kori Flechtner) is celebrating her 34th birthday and invited her students to join her tonight for a special yoga practice.  The core of the practice was 34 sun salutations in honor of each year of her life. It had been a looong time since I had been in a yoga class and I have to admit that I was a bit nervous going into this one.  As we sat in meditation at the beginning of the class, and I thought about my intention for the two hours that lie ahead, I realized that this was also my 34th day of being 100% raw.  Wow! The Universe blows me away with this stuff.  And how appropriate it was that I was celebrating it doing yoga with Kori because it was in January 2008, when I participated in a small intention group with Kori and a few of her students, that I first went raw and set an intention for my journey…

I honor the Divine within me
By making extraordinary decisions every single day
That support the exquisite care of my body, mind, and soul
In such a way that it’s contagious.

By way of reflection, I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at this intention and see how it has manifested in the past 34 days.

ex-traor-din-ar-y – beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular or established, as in extraordinary decisions.
People talk about how long it takes to form a new habit or make a shift in behavior – 3 weeks? 30 days? 3 months?  I suppose that’s why I set out for 30 days raw… to give myself enough time to build a new way of being.  But what I realize is that the shift that happened in me didn’t take 30 days… it took a moment.   The moment I made the decision to eat 100% raw for 30 days, a shift happened in my mind and my heart and my being… and everything changed.  Of course it is true that with time, eating raw has become easier and more of a habit, but that is secondary to the shift that happened when I made a decision to do things differently.  The moment of that decision opened up a whole new universe of possibilities.  If there was just one lesson I could take away from this experience, this would be it – be bold, be fearless, don’t be so ‘mayo’, make extraordinary decisions… every single day.

ex-quis-ite – of rare excellence of production or execution, as works of art or workmanship, as in exquisite care.
I love this idea of treating my body, mind and soul as a precious work of art.  I think the thing that has surprised me the most in this 34 day journey, has been the impact on my mind and soul.  Not to minimize the changes to my body – I’ve lost weight, my joints flow more freely, my hot flashes have been significantly reduced, my skin is softer and brighter, and my energy continues to skyrocket.  But it is the changes to my mind and soul that took me by surprise.  I feel incredible clarity of mind.  It’s difficult to describe this, as one almost has to experience it juxtapose to not having clarity of mind.  In any case,  with that, I am able to think more clearly and have been able to make decisions about my life and my business that have expanded both in new and exciting directions.  Also unexpected have been the changes in my spiritual life.  Implementing a 5:30 morning routine of yoga, meditation, gratitude, and intention has deepened my spiritual connection and I feel  it has opened a channel for Spirit to flow more freely.   I’ve come to understand and experience that everything starts with energy, and when I infuse my body with living energy, my mind and my soul are also more alive.  Bottom line,  BIG energy = BIG life.

con-ta-gious – tending to spread from person to person, as in in such a way that it’s contagious.
I love educating people about raw foods, and I love preparing it for my friends, but it has never been my style to try to convert people to raw.  And yet, in the past 34 days, my mom and brother asked for seconds of my watermelon gazpacho, my nephew’s wife started her own 30 day raw challenge, my friends from Texas hosted their own raw dinner party, and my colleagues with whom I serve on a non-profit board, decided that our next meeting will be a raw potluck.  I’m blown away by how contagious this stuff is and it’s fun to see how the deliciousness of the food, and the energy you get from it, and the joy it brings all speak for themselves.

So lets run the numbers…
days raw – 34
pounds lost – 8
recipes tried – 23
energy found – immeasurable :)

My intention is to continue 100% raw as long as it feels right.  I’ve had so much fun discovering new recipes and writing this blog, that I plan to continue trying new recipes, revisiting my old favorites, and writing at least twice a week.  I’ve also been thinking about my next 30 day challenge – perhaps 30 days of yoga classes, or 30 days of waste reduction…  I’m still thinking on this one, but whatever it turns out to be, i hope you will join me for the journey.  By the way, I made it through the 34 sun salutations, and like going 100% raw, the more I did, the easier it got. :)

Today’s Recipe – Orange Cilantro Green Smoothie
This recipe is a favorite of mine. I like it because it is simple and delicious, and I usually have the ingredients in my fridge.  I typically have it as a morning or lunch smoothie.  If you want, you can leave the avocado out to make it less thick or you can add another avocado to it to make it into more of a soup.  I just made this smoothie for The Green Chick.  You can check out the video blog here.

Orange Cilantro Green Smoothie (4+ Yums)
2 cups orange juice – fresh squeezed is best if possible
1 english cucumber, unpeeled
1 healthy handful Cilantro
1 avocado

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Today’s Affirmation
I breath in all the Universe has to offer me today, I breath out gratitude.

Today’s Observations
Today was the first day I tried my new morning routine.  I got up at 5:30 (the key is to NOT hit the snooze button), took a shower, reminded myself and my body of how good it feels to do sun salutations on my yoga mat (albeit a pretty rusty version of a sun salutation), made a list of the 10 things I am grateful for, and took my regular morning walk.  It felt great to start the day this way and I found that once my feet hit the ground, my body followed quite willingly.  It is really just my head that wants to stay in bed longer.

This was also the first day in… I can’t remember when… that I did not watch any television…. and I survived.  I survived not knowing who won America’s Got Talent.  I survived not seeing who got eliminated from Top Chef.  I’m not saying that I will never watch television, but it was a good reminder that I have choices over how I spend every minute of my day, and I’m glad for the choices I made today.

What does this have to do with going raw for 30 Days?  Everything… and more than I know.

Today’s Menu
Coconut, Mango, Raspberry Smoothie for breakfast
Macadamia Nut Hummus with red pepper slices for lunch
Snacks – apple, nectarine, grapes
Thai Salad with Creamy Thai Dressing for dinner

Today’s New Recipe
I got home late and needed to whip something up quick, because I was starving.  Of course I was tempted to forgo a new recipe for today and just eat an avocado – but I’m glad I didn’t, because I think I may have found a new favorite.  I love the flavors of Thai.  I’m one of those people who loves Cilantro – I find that it is one of those love-it or hate-it kinds of foods.  Anyway, this one is easy to throw together, and you can easily add to it or leave things out if you don’t have them in your fridge.  The dressing is killer and one I plan to keep on hand.  This is my modified version of the recipe in Everyday Raw.

Thai Salad (4 Yums)
2 handfuls of salad greens (I used 1 head of romaine, chopped up)
1/2 a handful of cilantro
1 cup pineapple, diced
1/2 cup soaked, finely sliced sundried tomatoes
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper cut into thin strips1/2 cup thinly sliced young coconut meat
1/2 cup chopped raw cashews
Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, or arrange nicely on a plate and top with Creamy Thai Dressing to taste.  I just put it in a bowl and ate the whole thing!

Creamy Thai Dressing (4+ Yums)
This makes 21/2 cups, so you can easily cut the recipe in half if you want.
3/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup nama shoya (unpasteurized soy sauce)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup raw cashews
4 Thai bird chilies or 3 tablespoons red chili flakes (I didn’t have these, so left them out and it was still delicious)

Today’s Affirmation
I’m gonna try out a new thing here.  Rather than focusing on challenges, I’d rather create and share an affirmation for the day.  So here is today’s affirmation…

I consciously choose how I spend each and every moment of my day.