Good morning to you….woot! the weekend’s here! For anyone who missed my guest post on the lovely Jenny’s blog earlier in the week, I thought I’d give you a healthy does of yoga this morning with this post. Enjoy!!!
Hi Bloggies, how’re you doin’ today? This post is not brought to you by your regular homegirl Jenny, but instead by me, Averie.
When Jenny asked me to do a guest post, I was flattered! I have so much love and respect for her that’s it’s not even funnnny! So it’s with great honor that I get to grab a few minutes of your time on her bloggie.
I know that Jenny is into yoga and so am I, and was thinkin’ that maybe a few of you are, too. I have actually been a registered yoga teacher since 2001. I was pretty young when I took the plunge into yoga and it’s changed my life over nearly the last decade.
I went to my first yoga class in the year 2000 wanting to tone up, keep my weight in check, get some exercise, pretty much your standard reasons someone wants to join a gym or even try yoga in the beginning. After being so sore after my first few classes, I was hooked.
I was also terribly embarrased of my skills in the early days because my arm strength, frankly, sucked. And, although I have always been a runner and I thought my legs were in pretty good shape…again, no. I can’t tell you how many classes I would leave with trembling quads and shaking knees. But these early challenges actually just inspired me to keep going, keep practicing, and stick with yoga.
As I did, I learned that yoga is not just about what you can do. Asanas, or the yoga poses, are just one aspect of yoga and although I can do all kinds of rock star poses now, it wasn’t always that way. And to top it off, I used to spend more time looking around the room wondering what everyone else was doing rather than paying attention to what I was doing. Yoga’s all about looking inward, finding yourself, finding what is gonna work for you, not just on the mat, but off and in life.
My yoga practice positively spilled over into all aspects of my life…my relationships with others, with my then-boyfriend at the time, with how I viewed myself, with how much more I respected others, and the amount of compassion I had for myself. I cannot say enough good things about the mental and emotional benefits of yoga, not to mention all the physical stuff. The physical poses will all happen in time, just stick with it.
Urdhva Dhanurasana (Full BackBend)
Which leads me to a few things I am frequently asked about yoga…
What kind of yoga do you practice?
I practice mainly ashtanga yoga, which is considered the grandfather of the more physical styles. From ashtanga, other disciplines like power yoga, vinyasa yoga, flow-based yoga evolved. Most ashtanga studios are about 85 degrees F which is warm, but not like Bikram warm.
Do you ever do Bikram or Hot Yoga?
I am not a huge Bikram fan as I believe most of what you do in a Bikram studio is sweat solely due to heat rather than the actual intensity level of the yoga. Basically, that tt was only the heat that made you feel like you were dyin’. With ashtanga, you will always get a phenomenal physical workout in, as well as the mental boost. No disrespect towards any Bikram lovers, that’s just not what floats my boat quite as much. And that’s the beauty of yoga and life…you gotta find what works for you on make your path your own.
Is yoga a Religion?
No. Yoga evolved from India where many people are Hindu, but yoga itself is not a religion. You will also find many yogis have chosen Buddhism as their calling but again, not part of yoga.
Do I have to become a Vegetarian or Vegan if I wanna do Yoga?
No. However, many yogis practice ahimsa, or non-violence/non-harming, and they choose not to eat animal flesh. But again, the beauty of yoga is that there should be no judgment, and so go eat a cheeseburger if that’s what floats ya boat!
My personal path is one of high raw all vegan diet. I have come to this place, in a nutshell, because I feel better on mostly raw foods and without animal product in my diet, however, this has been a work in progress, not something I arrived at…yesterday.
My blog showcases high raw all vegan eats (except for the Cool Whip laden desserts I make my man!) and I like to create recipes from my head and just rock n roll however the spirit moves me in the kitch. I also love chocolate and sweet treats, so there’s an abundance of yummy-ness goin’ on.
I would love it if you stopped by my blog and I am totally open for any and all yoga questions! Feel free to email me directly at loveveggiesandyoga@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer all your questions.
I’ll leave you with a few parting shots of me in some yoga poses…again, I didn’t have these mastered in days, but in years. Yoga is lifelong.
:)
Averie
Tip of the Day: Give yoga a try, you’ll probably fall in love with it and it will probably change your life for the better!
Thanks to all of Jenny’s aweome readers for indulging me, and thanks to Jenny, you rock woman!
xoxo
Namaste!!!!
I'm glad you took the neg comment down. Comments are about adding to the discussion, and if doesn't contribute in a helpful way, then out it goes.
An Averie raw cookbook! That TOTALLY gets my vote and I would absolutely be first in line to buy it!
I pierced my nose on my 30th birthday this year to prove that I'm still young! I love it. I don't think I'll ever pierce anything else but hey, I never dreamed I would pierce my nose so never say never, right?!
Averie!!!
I know I know, don't compare, but it's so difficult not to when I want so badly to do some of those arm balances. :)
Coconut milk kefir – I can't believe I still haven't made it. On my to-make list. Soon, very soon.
Love your love of veggies. :)
I love your discussion on not comparing…I totally agree! I delete all comments that don't sit right with me…and then forget about them, not worth the worry. I still cannot believe people that are rude take the time to make rude comments, seriously!?! What happen to the saying, if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything. Love your post, whether short or long : )
cheeto soup? Averie – you are officially a mad genius!
todays thought of the day efinitely hits home for me.. I had always been one who was inclined to compare herself to others (I guess thats what happens when you have two drop dead gorgeous older sisters, right?) I'm trying to learn how to be comfortable in my own skin and proud that God made me the way I am for a reaon.. we're all unique in our own way :)
p.s. I'll be emailing you back soon Av! so much work to do today, mehhh! hang in there though and stat positive!
love you love you!
as per usual your veggies just look fabulous & fresh, but that bowl of oats!!? totally and completely amazing my dear!
Nooch-yum, must get on that stat. Good point about the vitamix not doing it best.
We already had emails about the negative comment and I'm glad that you made the choice you did. Your blog: your rules. Period. who needs negativity in something that's supposed to be fun and light?
And I actually find moderating my comments easy but that's b/c I just get a handful of them. :-D
You never mentioned the two secret macaroon ingredients! Don't dold out!
I am so confused about this leftover vegetable biz going on… I NEVER have leftover veg! Haha. No matter how much I make, I eat it all, lol.
Don't worry about weird/negative comments- delete them/ignore them/laugh at them…don't let it knock you down because the people that love your posts FAR outweigh the people that have nothing better to do with their time than be offensive (am thinking they are 13 years old, killing time on lunchbreak at school in the library since they have no friends to hang out with and want to feel 'big').
Please do a competition for macaroons. Please fix it so I win (I won't tell) and please do it when I am in NY so I don't have to rely on British Mail :P
*ahem* hold onto your hats because this comment is going to be long. you see, when i get behind on my blog reading, i just click on you on reader and say "hooray, 4 posts by averie!" and then i open the first post in a new screen and proceed to read all 4 posts and leave one large ass comment which i add to as i read along, backwards.. mind you.. so now that you know the method to my madness, here goes :P
ohh i dont remember yesterday's macaroons but i see them now and they look glorious! coconut is one of the best flavors ever. in fact it comes in third for me, next to vanilla bean and cinnamon.
i never said leftovers cannot be delish, that is for sure! in fact sometimes leftovers are better than the OG!
so on all these glorious creations.. do you just whip them all up out of thin air? if that is the case.. you need to write a cookbook. like, today. you would make millions. or at least thousands!
love the TITD. i used to be REALLY wrapped up in comparing myself to my friends. namely my friend who is 105 lbs soaking wet and eats fast food every day and drinks like a fish. i then realized.. eventually.. that i am not her and she is not me and i better just embrace the way i am or i will be a miserable little girl. awesome tip. thanks for that.
wow, that was only one post! hope you have a snack handy.
oh it is the macaroons! yahoo! my mom has a dehydrator i can borrow. wow.. so many coconutty photos.. i am salivating over here. do you know how good those would be on top of vanilla bean ice cream!? do you?! probably better than your amazing crumble!
one good thing that made me happy over the weekend? catching up with old homies.
a contest? YES! and i think the requirements of the winner should 1: have to live in salt lake city 2: have 7 letters in her name and 3: be 5'1". then my winning entry would be in the bag!
haha i started to get jealous when i started reading about your 2 hr massage, but then it was a total psyche out! ha. you almost had me.
ok, skylar is a doll! pineapple poop and all.
oh and my weekend activity boat is floated with hours of snowboarding.. still waiting for that snow.. hmm
and as for your dinner recap, i bring back the cookbook idea. well i guess it couldnt be called a cookbook since a lot of the stuff you make is raw? would it be called a recipe book then? yes. do it.
this is so freaking ridiculous. but i was fully entertained and probably wasted some of my employer's $$$ but i loved every minute of it! love you!
i loove leftovers :D
is kefir vegan..? if you make it with coconut milk!? i am SO curious to try it.. is it like yogurt??
i wish i had a TJ's where I lived.. : ( sigh. everything looks super yumm!
XO
I love leftovers! My fav. kind of lunch!
Yay for Trader Joes, I've gotta get over to there and stock up soon (it's right in my town).
Sorry about the comment, people can be such downers!! Booo!
Is it bad that if I was ever to be on a reality show, I would want it to be Real Housewives? I love that show way too much! I'm all about the New Jersey wives though – what about you?
Those macaroons look CRAZY good! I'm drooling! Healthy equivalent to coating on Cheetos? I like! I was definitely a finger licker when I ate those!
Sorry to hear about the negative comment. Luckily, I haven't received any negativity (knock on wood) but you better believe I'd delete it in a heart beat. Blogging shouldn't have drama attached to it so I think you made the right choice in deleting it! Hope you have a great Monday :)
Kim I changed it. You're right, probably not cool so I edited my text. I mean no harm by it but thanks for the reminder :)
VG-What a day it's already been girl :) Wow. Thanks for bein' you!
Cindy-Hey girl, glad the a.m. yoga is fitting into your day and you're enjoying working it in. Thanks for all your other food for thought too :)
Normally I enjoy your blog, but I have to admit I'm a bit offput by your "Real GhettoWives" reference. Is this because the most of the women on the show are black? This is a show where the previous series' housewives were white, and now that they are (still rich and living extravagent lifestyles but) black, they get the "ghetto" label.
I'm sorry if I sound harsh! I do admire other aspects of your life, I just encourage you to think about such racially charged terms before you use them.
I love your tip of the day.
Another element to that equation (which is SUCH a good reminder btw) is when you are feeling judged or "compared" somehow just to let it roll off your back.
We've had some huge changes in our lives (baby, job changes, home remodel…) and I FEEL it all the time…people/family get funny and I HATE that feeling but am learning to let it be there prob and not mine!
sigh
I am still doing my morning yoga. I need to do some searching, I don't think I am doing all the poses right…but now I am loving getting up and stretching. I think my body is getting used to it right out of bed!
THANKS.
Happy Monday (and the macs look DIVINE)
I am craving some more crumble but am out of dates! YIKES…that's a crime in some states!
:)
oh and about the neg comment…good for you. I haven't gotten anything real off yet…but I wonder how I will feel when I do.
I also think I don't want ick vibes and would just delete it. AND than again I like honesty and open ness and if someone has something to say..than SAY IT.
I guess I'll see how I feel when it happens!
I am glad you did what you did!
okay, I am done NOW!
Leftovers = always tasty :)
Love the Trader Joe's goodies!!
MODERATE THE COMMENTS, I say.
Hey Averie! The post is up! Hope you enjoy! Thanks again for your inspiration! Something tells me this isn't going to be the first recipe of yours I'm going to make! Happy Monday!
Erin