My Move to a Full Plant Based Diet

Since sometime late last year,  I have been making a conscious effort to only eat a plant based diet and removing all animal products from what I eat.   I have been thinking about doing this for a long time and it has been a gradual switch to only eating a vegan diet.    It has been years since I last ate eggs, meat, or fish but removing all dairy from my life has been a challenge.    I  stopped having dairy products at home about three years ago but outside the home,  it has been difficult .

Moving toward a complete plant based diet is not easy when you go out to dine.   There are temptations (like Pizza and Eggplant Parmesan) and many restaurants sneak in dairy ingredients or throw cheese onto everything.  Even vegetarian Indian restaurants  (which I love) often use clarified butter (ghee) in a good amount of cooking.    There is usually something for me to eat,  but there are times when I had fries and a salad and had to make sure that the salad did not come with cheese or croutons.   It is good that many restaurants now mark things as vegetarian and vegan but it would be nice for every restaurant to offer one plant based meal.

When I am out with a friend tasting beers,  the thought of just eating a salad sometimes just does not cut it and I indulge in some pizza.    These transgressions are pretty rare but they do happen.   Perhaps one day I will have enough will power to just say no.    This has been the biggest challenge for me and something I will just have to work through.    

Family gatherings are another mine field.   My dear mother has a unshakable belief that anything can be improved by butter.    With the upcoming Thanksgiving coming up,  I have to negotiate with her to make sure that some of the vegetables are not living in a butter sea.    I know that I will have a limited choice of what to eat  (and no protein unless I bring some).   No pie for me either.

Explaining a plant based diet choice to people is interesting.    I of course get the usual where do you get your protein question but many people really do not understand my choice.    I am always shy about explaining this to dates, and I think that it can be an issue.   I am sure it is not easy to go out with someone who has chosen to limit a basic part of their life.      

Can anyone say "Tofu Turkey"

Namaste..

Long Busy Summer.

It has been 3 months since I last posted.   I had some half written entries that I decided not to post and before I knew it,  time has slipped by.    

From a Yoga standpoint,  my teaching has taken on a new dimension.   I have now over 50 hours of teaching logged with the Yoga Alliance.   For much of the Summer I was subbing regularly for other teachers.   Subbing is always a challenge because many people come in for a specific teacher and you should try to lead a class in a similar style as the normal teacher.    I have taught Yin,  Hot,  Regular,  Flow and Kundalini inspired classes.   The challenge of subbing helps me become a better teacher.

I am now teaching a regular weekly class.  This will allow me to better develop my teaching style and format my class the way I would like it to be.      I have only had one class so far and it was very small (only 5 people) but the teacher I took it over from had very few people coming so I am not too concerned about that.    The prior teacher's class was very fast with lots of balances and I have decided to slow things down to focus more on getting the poses right and to reduce the number of balances.   I will be adding in Kundalini as I love that style and the movement basis that many of the poses area.

I did my longest single day hike on the Laurel Highland Trail in South West Pennsylvania when I did a 15 mile hike on one of the sections of the trail.    It was surprisingly easy to do.   There was not too much up and down but it is still a long distance to walk.    My own led hikes are getting longer and I lead a 12.4 mile hike along with some 10 mile hikes.     I am always amazed with my energy level on hikes.    I never really get tired and even do pretty well on long uphills.    Hiking is such great exercise. 

Namaste...

Yoga Weekend Learning / Anatomy Workshop

I recently (June 1 through June 3 2018) spent a long weekend at the Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, North Carolina taking an intensive workshop on Anatomy and Yoga.    I am required to have 30 continuing education hours over three years to keep up my Yoga certification (along with 50 hours of teaching).  The class I took provided me with 13 hours toward that certification. 

I have been thinking about a Yoga getaway for quite a while and I wanted that time to be about learning and not relaxation.  I decided early on that I did not want a vacation.   I had investigated going away a weekend of just practice and other activities but this were not really what I wanted.   Many of these weekends felt like going to a spa and in many cases were quite expensive.

Two sisters who attended the workshop called what we did a "Yocation".   You take time away from your lives to focus on Yoga.  I really like that description.

I have a great desire to learn as much as possible about how the body works and especially how the body moves when practicing Yoga.  This is the reason why I decided to take this training.  It is my opinion that, as a Yoga instructor,  I should have good level of knowledge about what muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments are being stretched or strengthened when in a pose or moving into and out of a pose.  This class focused on mostly primary muscles (and bones)  and movement of those muscles and this focus is what I was looking for when I signed up for the class.    We also learned a good deal about general injuries and medical issues (especially lower back).   I learned a great deal (almost too much) and now have the action item to actually synthesize everything that I learned.    The class both reinforced what I already know and added to my knowledge.

The workshop  itself had about 40 people  (we were crammed in a bit too much in my opinion) and most attendees were instructors like myself.   The age range seemed to be from 22 to 70 and with a variety of experiences,  teaching styles, and teaching situations (including one woman who taught at a prison).    One woman I chatted with taught at a studio I went to in a Chattanooga, Tennessee a few times when I was working down there and we had a mutual instructor friend.    That tells you how all interconnected we are.

It was really great to be in a learning environment with so many practitioners of Yoga.   I stayed at a shared guest house owned by the center with seven other students,  walked to the training facility,  did not bring my computer,  and practiced both during class and in the morning before class (there was a Yoga room in my guest house).   I basically talked and breathed Yoga for 2 plus days.    It was wonderful.   I even had the best vegan meal ever at Plant.   Plant Restaurant.    

I think back to when I started my Yoga journey.   It is eight years in the past.    I feel that I have both traveled a great distance and taken only a few short steps.   My body is very happy for what I have done for it.    My knowledge of Yoga has just skimmed the surface.    This weekend inspired me very much and has served to increase my passion for my own practice.  It will hopefully  help me be a better teacher.  That is where my Yoga focus is mostly now.   I am inspired to learn and learn more and share what I learn.

Namaste..

Life of a New Yoga Teacher

It has been about three months since I received my Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) from the Yoga Alliance.     I have also gotten liability insurance and am now CPR certified.    Both of these (along with the RYT) are general requirements to teach in studios.

Since my certification,  I have been teaching a fair amount.     I did a 30 minute "1 on 1" demo with a studio director (a bit stressful I have to say) and as a result of that demo,  I was hired on as a substitute and to date have taught three classes there and have more scheduled.    This was the first time I earned any money from teaching.    Since I have a day job,  earning money teaching is not my primary goal,  but it is great to see that my efforts in becoming a teacher have been appreciated enough for someone to charge for my time.    I have also taught a ten week session at an  after school program, which was my first foray into teaching teenagers, and a few volunteer donation classes at a cat shelter.     I am now in the middle of teaching a ten week session for new and beginner students at a local church.   This is an on going series I started and it is great to see people coming back for the third session. 

As a new teacher,  I can spend up to five hours preparing and practicing  for each one hour class that I teach.    I am still learning my teacher voice,  nuances of poses and pose cues,  and also I am working on sequences that are unique to me.     All of this takes time but I do not mind the effort as I am learning as I go.     What I have noticed is that the amount of time it takes me to prepare for a basic flow class is significantly less than what it took last year.   I have, in a pinch,  also taught a class without preparing for it.    It was not too difficult to do, but I do not want to make it a habit.    I owe it to my students to prepare. 

The only downfall to teaching is that since I work a regular job and because I  spend a lot of time preparing,  I have much less time to grow my own practice.    It is not that I am not practicing Yoga.  I generally run through each class to make sure the flow is good and I am not taking too much or too little time  (this is harder than you think).   I spend one to two hours many nights in my Yoga room.   This all means less of what I need for myself.      We were taught not to neglect your own practice,   but I do find this a challenge. 

Overall though,  I am so happy that I took the teaching plunge.  I was looking at some photos I took from training and it feels like a million years ago when I first sat with 14 strangers in a room to begin that journey.     I want to share with as many people as possible the benefits of a Yoga practice.   The best way I can think to do so is to teach.  Any time and any place I can think of.

Namaste...

Fifth Anniversay Post: What a long unstrange trip it's been.

I am not one for endurance,  so I am amazed   that I have been writing this blog for five years.   I am also amazed that almost seven years ago I decided to start practicing Yoga and that I am still practicing.  What is most  amazing is that I have practiced Yoga with an intensity that astounds me.    In my past,  I would flow in and out of exercise routines.   That has never happened with Yoga.    I have barely missed a day in my practice. 

In those seven years I have been able to again touch my feet,  do a headstand,  balance in ways I never thought possible, and increase my  flexibility everywhere.      What is more important is that I have taken control of my health by focusing more of my life on exercise and diet.    Living a mostly Vegan lifestyle with daily exercise of walking,  Yoga , and hiking has done wonders not only for my body but for my spirit as well.

This blog was written as a way to share my experiences in the hope that it gives others incentive to follow a similar path.    It has not been difficult to take control of my health.   I love Yoga, I love hiking,  and I love what I eat.  It only takes discipline and focus to bring this about.   

It is easier than you think.

Namaste. 

Yoga Is About Taking Care of Ourselves

I recently had a conversation with a friend about her attending one of my Yoga classes.   She had a number of reasons not to come.  Most of her reasons centered on the fact that she had too much going on with her children and thus she could not take the time away from their activities to come to class.   I did not argue with her,  but I felt that she would be doing herself a great favor is she took a few hours a week for herself to practice Yoga.  

When you take an hour or so to practice Yoga,  you are taking that time away from everyone and everything else to do something good for yourself.     That hour on the mat is all yours.  The benefits are yours,  the sweat you give is yours,  the pleasure you receive,  and the calmness you get is all yours.     Taking that time for yourself may appear to be selfish but we often worry too much about others at the expense of ourselves.   For our own physical and mental well being,  taking time to exercise is a key element of future good health. 

To quote the Declaration of Independence "We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".    We are also endowed with just this single life and if we do not take time for us to take care of ourselves, then as we age,  we will age less gracefully than we could be able.    Yoga, if practiced regularly,  gives us the strength, flexibility, and balance that will be beneficial as we advance through our lives.    Yoga  also has the added benefit of being adaptable to the needs of the person practicing.  With a myriad of poses available and so many different styles of Yoga,  it is easy to build a practice that works for anyone.  

In my short time teaching,  I have taught students from age 8 to age 65.   Even those starting at 65 years of age are helping themselves.  It is never too late to begin taking care of oneself and to practice Yoga,  but the earlier you start,  the better the benefits.

Namaste

 

I’m not flexible enough. The physical benefits of a Yoga practice practice.

I’m not flexible enough to do Yoga.   I've heard this more times than I can count.   Yoga makes you more flexible.    But there is much more. 

There are many physical benefits from a regular Yoga practice.    I personally like to categorize them in four ways.   These benefits are strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance.     While many non-practitioners of Yoga may think it is all about flexibility, the other benefits of Yoga are also important.      While there is no doubt that you gain an increased range of motion in your hamstrings, shoulders, lower back, quadriceps, and other muscle groups,   the other three benefit areas also make life more livable and enjoyable.     Yoga is not just about pretzel poses but is rather a form of exercise with numerous benefits.    

The ability of a Yoga practice to increase core (abdominal and lower back muscles) strength, along with the awareness of how to use those muscles in day to day activities,  means that your chances for back injury decreases and your ability to do core based activities increase.      Many Yoga poses are specifically designed to work on core strength.    For many (if not most) people, these poses are the most difficult to endure and require the most effort in a Yoga practice.    Because we generally live a chair based, sedentary life style, our core muscles weaken over time.   Getting them back to a level where they should be takes effort.      Many people have told me that Locust pose may be their least favorite.    This is not because it is a challenging pose to get into, but rather because it works directly on the part of their body where they are weakest.     There is no doubt that working on your core is not easy, but the benefits are worth it.    In addition to your core, Yoga strengthens your legs, shoulders, and other important muscle groups.   This increased strength allows a practitioner to more readily engage in other physical activities such as hiking as well as being physically better able to perform day to day activities that require strength. 

From the perspective of balance, Yoga helps us keep our balance as we age.    Yoga has both arm and leg balances.     These balances require mental focus, strength (core, arms, shoulders, and legs), and of course balance.     As people age, the chances of having injuries from falling increase due to lack of balance and strength.    Poor balance can lead to falls and fractured bones or hips.    Yoga poses where we work on core and leg strength for balancing (along with the mental focus on balance), make balancing as we age a brighter prospect.     Standing in Tree Pose, where my standing leg has to be strong and engaged, my core muscles active, my pelvis neutral, and my focus involved in keeping me standing balance provide numerous benefits.   

When I stand in Warrior II in a hot Yoga practice, holding the pose after moving without stop for 30 or 40 minutes, I often think about what I am feeling in the practice.    My body is hot and tired and I can feel the effort that I am putting forth.    I sometimes have to use my mouth to breath instead of the traditional breathing through my nose.  In a physical moving Yoga class or home practice, we are working our muscles, working our breath, and challenging our bodies.    This practice builds up our physical  endurance.     Even an ambient, slow flow class requires a level of effort and endurance to hold poses for an extended time.   This increase endurance has benefits for other physical activities. 

   

When I first started practicing Yoga, my flexibility was sub-optimal.   My toe touching ended at my ankles, my shoulders were hunched and my back was very tight.   There is no doubt that my flexibility has progressed enormously over my years of practice.    Poses that I never thought possible are now a simple stretch, but there is more to go.    Touching my toes is a common activity.    This increased flexibility reduces my chance for injury from inadvertent movements and such common things as sneezing.     This flexibility improvement would not have happened if I said to myself “I’m not flexible enough to do Yoga” and not started down the path of Yoga.   So if you say to yourself that you are not flexible enough to practice Yoga,  you are doing yourself a disservice.   You practice Yoga to make yourself more flexible.  

Namaste…