Today is the last day of my Autumn Cleanse, inspired by Yoga Journal. The toughest part was day 5. I REALLY wanted gelato. I live around the corner from Black Dog Gelato which makes the BEST gelato in Chicago, hands down. About every other week, I buy a small cup of salty cashew and carmel gelato with whatever flavor there excites me. What also excites me is organic eggs. See the photo of a nice breakfast I enjoy. Gluten free bread that I baked with grilled "cheese bread" and an organic egg on an egg plate named, "Chickie". (Yes, the plate has a name.) Instead of gelato, I ate yogurt with locally milked honey. It was GOOD. So good, that I'm in love with the food that I have in my home. In love with the mung beans and rice that I've eaten for a week. I'm especially in love with the idea of not having to leave my home and spend money to eat. The cleanse inspired me to go inwards more to rely on internal resources to be satisfied with the food I had ("No, Mia, you really DON'T need gelato.") The cleanse inspired me to eat more healthy - I don't miss refined white sugar, at all, as long as I have more local honey. I don't miss garlic and onion, surprisingly. I certainly don't miss bread or chocolate. I wasn't even tempted to drink wine. WOW. I did cheat and have a few french fries this past week and I had some popcorn, but I'm letting myself off the hook. I did a great job of cleansing myself. Now to cleanse the cleanse! Tomorrow, I'll have organic oatmeal with raisons and dates, made with flax milk. I can't wait to get "dirty" after the cleanse!
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Ya know, I'm not one to promote anything unless I really believe in it. I'm doing Yoga Journal's "7 Day Fall Detox" because I believe in detoxing to maintain my spirit-in-physical form. I'm fine with the program coming from Yoga Journal, even though I don't agree with everything they print. They have a stellar line up behind this detox, though. Scott Blossom I studied with 5 years ago and he's amazing - a real student of Robert Svoboda. Chase Bossart I'm about to study with and he's a student of Desikichar. There are other teachers but those are the ones that I already knew and respected. OK, so day one. My kitchari doesn't look like this: My kitchari is still yummy, though. I had three bowls today with my too salty chutney, but they taste good together.
I'm a bit loopy, my vata is feeling high. This may be because I'm detoxing my brain. Also, I've been gassy after eating, lately. I thought I was drinking too much home made water kefir (YUM). I haven't had any kefir today and was still gassy after dinner. Hopefully this detox will clear out the ama that's making me burpy & farty. I wanted protein, but my good pal Lela Beem suggested more lemon, more salt and more honey. Three flavors I love. Great! They seemed to do the trick. We'll see how I feel tomorrow after day 2. For now - sleeeep. I'm also doing the asana and meditation that go along with the cleanse, too. Why not? I'm in it, I'll try. And, for the record, I prefer saying AUTUMN instead of FALL. Fall? Oh, no. Get up! Here I am with my beloved yoga teacher, Rod Stryker and his awesome son, Theo, at the Yoga Journal Conference a few days ago in CO. I've seen yogarupa (that's Rod's spiritual name) so often this year, like every other month! I saw him in January in MN, March in Chicago and in Mexico, May in NYC, July at Lake Tahoe in CA, and last week in Estes Park, CO. Yes, that's a lot of flying for me. And YES, that's a lot of time I've spent with my teacher, which has been so great. I've been able to learn so much about yoga this year by listening to him, by practicing with him, by assisting him, by being near him. (Vibrationally, he runs pretty high.) But, enough is enough. I LOVE assisting my teacher & wish I could for every workshop. However, I need to recoup my energy and settle. I need to absorb all the information I've learned from this amazing teacher and live the teachings I've learned. I won't see him again until January in MN (again) and that's fine! I see my nephew less than I see Yogarupa. I can never have enough yoga and I am devoted to my teacher. Now, I have the luxury to practice on my own. I've been a bad blogger. I'm so good with helping others with their social media that I am lacking on my blogs, but in my heart, I'm blogging every day! Now, just to translate what's in my heart onto the screen. Right now, I'm at the Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park, CO with my teacher, Rod Stryker...you know it! More on this great event, soon. Thanks for reading!
The Yoga Journal Conference in NYC is upon us. I leave tonight for the Big Apple to visit family and work at the Three MInute Egg booth in the marketplace.
I'll for sure see my ParaYoga friends (woohoo!) and my teacher, Rod Stryker (WOOHOO!), but this will be a very loooong weekend. It's 10 hours of talking to people and demonstrating this clever yoga product. I love doing this job - it's my 5th time in three years working with Jason from Egg central - but, like any other trade show I've worked (over 40), people are CHALLENGING. People in general can be demanding and high maintenance. Often, yoga people are also demanding and high maintenance, but are more passive aggressive about it since we're yoga people who are trying our best to be "balanced". Ugh. I do my best to be direct, compassionate and friendly. I'm super high maintenance sometimes and when I realize it, try to reel myself in. Maybe these anxious, needy yoga people who are curious about the Egg are also about to ground themselves and calm down. We're all on the path, we're all journeying our way towards the best we can be. So, off I go to NYC to celebrate all of us on the path to enlightenment at this yoga conference, one foam Egg at a time. |
AuthorMia Park is a ParaYoga teacher in Chicago, IL, specializing in teaching Basic Yoga for Advanced Misfits, as well as teaching people how to cut through the junk to shine on. Archives
February 2012
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