Immune Boosting Muffin Recipe

These delicious muffins offer your immune system a nice little boost with doTerra OnGuard immune support blend (cinnamon & other spices). Experiment with healthier options in the recipe, I just used what I had on hand. Try it out & let me know how it turns out!

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour (can sub for all-purpose if you wish)
• ¾ cup white sugar (experiment with another sweetener if you wish)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup oil (I use safflower)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk (I use almond milk)
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped into pieces
• ½ cup chopped dates (can sub for another chopped apple if you don’t have)
• 2 drops OnGuard essential oil

Optional Crumb Topping:

• ½ cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• ½ cup butter
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease six muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

Stir together 1 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, baking powder and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix in oil, egg and milk. Fold in apples & dates. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling to the top of the cup.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix together with fork and sprinkle over unbaked muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Spotlight Pose: Mermaid + Yoga Class Sequence

As you may have read in a previous posting, I am in love with Mermaid pose. From the first time I saw it, I knew I had to find my way into it. It took some time, but once I figured out which parts of the body needed more work to get there, it became a bit more simple.

I came up with a sequence that will help warm up the areas of the body that need to be open to get into this lovely pose.

Enjoy & let me know what you think!

• Centering: Begin in supported fish (5 minutes)
• Roll onto side, remove block and roll onto your back. Feet planted on the mat, knees bent and slip block between knees. Squeeze block, press lower back down onto mat and hold for 8 breaths.
• Bring strap under right foot, then straighten leg and flex foot, like you're standing on the ceiling. Hold for 5 breaths then switch.
• Come to seat, extend right leg, bend left knee and grab the back of the knee. Begin to make big counterclockwise circles with the lower portion of the leg, loosening & strengthening the knee joint.
• Seated hip cradle
• Grab bottom of foot in center to release
• Half saddle -> Heron -> Twist
• Deer
• Bound angle
• Cat/Cow -> Puppy
• Surya Namaskar A (3 rounds)
• Surya Namaskar B (2 rounds)
• Sphinx -> Half frog (8 breaths, then switch sides)
• Child's Pose
• Wide Forward Fold, bend into one knee then the other, freeing trapped energy
• Dancer
• Low Lunge -- bend back knee and grab a hold of the ankle (if you're here, you're not far from Mermaid!)
• Pigeon
• Mermaid! Make a loop with your strap first and slip it around your ankle, then from Pigeon, bend the back knee and pulley the foot up. If you don't need the strap, skip it, and see if you can bring that foot to the crook of the elbow. Continue the next 3 steps before you move to the other side.
• Crocodile
• Roll onto side
• Couch press bottom hip down and side of foot for balance -> Quad stretch
• Bridge w/ divers clasp

• Twists

• Peace & Silence

Rest Easy: Yin Yoga Sequence for a Good Night's Sleep

I had a new couple show up to my Yin Yoga class tonight, was super exciting. When I spoke with them, I learned that this is only their second time doing yoga. Ever. 

"Are you familiar with yin style?" I asked.

"Nope. But we were at Level 2 yesterday and loved it!"

Oy... headstands and sun salutations are about as far from yin as it gets... I was thrilled when after explaining yin style, they chose to stick around with smiles on their faces!

Yin Yoga can really be a hit-or-miss practice for those that are not familiar with it. I decided to treat tonight's class with a gentle sequence for a restful night.

Enjoy, sleep well, and let me know what you think!

I mean really though, who couldn't use more sleep... and more yoga?!

• Begin in Savasana with bolster under knees (5 minutes)

• Grab right knee and hug to chest for half wind relieving, then switch (1 minute each side)
• Caterpillar (5)

• Cat Pulling Tail (5 minutes each side)

• Square (5 ea)

• Down Dog

• Child's Pose

• Come to a seat and set the bolster lengthwise right next to the right hip. Lie the right side of the body down onto the bolster and rest your cheek on the mat. Halfway through, come slightly up and try to bring chest toward bolster so you're in a twist. Rest your left cheek on the bolster if possible. (5 ea)

• Straddle (5)

• Bound Angle (5)

• Supine Fish with Bolster under chest widthwise (5)

• Viparita Karani

Wisdom Wednesday #2

Love Affair with Aesthetically Pleasing Asanas

Sometimes in our yoga practice, certain poses feel a lot better than they look. Happy baby, for instance... probably not going to be featured on the cover of Yoga Journal.

But some yoga is so aesthetically beautiful that you can’t help but think—man, I would love to be able to do that. Natarajasana (Dancer Pose), Fallen Angel, Eight-Angle Pose, Compass... all very aesthetically pleasing. Why do you think "Yoga Girl" Rachel Brathen has such an immense following? Sure her words are beautiful, but her pictures are what entrances the masses.

Allow me to introduce to you, my love story with a pose called Mermaid.

When I first saw this pose, I thought—I HAVE to do that. I just have to. I don’t know how, but I will find a way.

So I just started inviting it to my practice every day. It started off not so great, it didn’t feel good right away and I'm SURE it didn't look good either, but after a while it started to click.

Above is a picture of my progress after two months. Below you will find out what it looks like today:

I brought this pose and my journey to my Level 1 class last night. I was incredibly humbled to find a student from one of my classes last night post a photo of herself in this pose today and tag me in the picture. She'd nailed and was SO excited. I'd also witnessed a student seated right in front of me get it for the first time, take a glance in the mirror, and beam brightly. She couldn't wipe the smile off of her face.

What is it about these poses that we love? Maybe we think that if we are able to bring our bodies in this beautiful shape, that we will in turn become more beautiful ourselves. If that's not reason enough to practice, I don't know what is. Everyone deserves to feel beautiful.

So if there is a pose that calls your name, entertain it. You have to invite it to your practice if you want to get comfortable with it. When you begin to think of your yoga practice as a party and you personally make the guest list, you gain control of who you want to be part of the party.

The same can be said of life—you invite who you want to keep showing up. If you want something to show up in your life, keep inviting it and entertaining it. Invite love, gratitude, truth, and compassion. If you won't want things in your life, stop entertaining them. Take fear off your guest list. Kick anxiety out of the club. Send self-doubt home.

So here’s to the journey. Some of ours may be longer than others, but let's try our best to enjoy the ride either way.

Stop Letting Doubt Hold You Back

For those that think the job of a yoga teacher is to show up for an hour and bust out some cool moves to some cool music, I wish I could say you were right. Teaching yoga means lots of planning, preparation, and research before each and every class. Personally, each time I plan for my classes, I make sure to review the anatomy of any new or spotlight poses that we may cover in the class in case any questions arise.

A couple weeks ago in the middle of a hip-intensive class, I set the class up in Pigeon pose and glanced around the room to look for any signs of struggle. Looked pretty good, considering there's usually at least one student in every class that struggles with this big hip stretch.

Then the silence finally broke right beneath me.

Here was this student in full Sleeping Swan, anatomically perfectly in line and saying, "I don't feel this."
"Try flexing your foot," I answered as I squatted down next to her and observed her form. Yep, hips square and all.
"Still nothing," she replied.
"Alright, scoot the foot a little further away from you, bringing the shin closer to parallel with the front of the mat." And she did. Foot flexed and all.
"Nope," she returned.

I walked her through a twisting version and even a King Pigeon... after a couple different suggestions to no avail, it was time to move on and I couldn't help but feel like I hadn't done my job. I let her down, and I let everyone else down who was there to witness it.

I'd told the class in the beginning, as I do every class, "Yoga should feel good. If it doesn't, or you don't feel it, let me know. There is a variation of a pose for everyone." I thought to myself,

Maybe she was just really flexible. 
Maybe I'd forgotten a variation.
Maybe I should have passed out blankets.
Maybe I'm not as good of a teacher as I thought I was...

Sound familiar?

Why do we go down this road?
Why do we beat ourselves up and bring ourselves down when we are presented with a challenge that we can't automatically tackle?
We're so quick to place blame wherever we see fit--and all too often on ourselves. But why? What has placing blame every solved, or even made any matter better?

My story continues at the end of class, when it was revealed that this particular student had given birth just 6 weeks ago. The relaxin was likely still flowing through her body making her extra flexy, and let's face it--a pigeon pose is far less intense than pushing a human being out of your body. To be honest, I felt a lot better about myself after speaking with her, but then I felt even worse for myself about how I was so quick to doubt my abilities.

So the lesson here is this: STOP DOUBTING YOURSELF.

Does anyone expect you to be perfect? NO.
Have you given it your best shot, coming from a place of love? THEN STOP WORRYING.

Stop worrying about how your efforts might not be good enough.
Stop letting others' criticisms and doubts change how you feel about yourself.
Do all things from a place of love & kindness and you will never need to feel inadequate.
Find comfort and peace knowing that your best is enough.

Wisdom Wednesday