Nature provides us with a host of antibiotic substances and another huge army of immune system boosters. This post is advocating careful thinking about how you can naturally boost your body’s defenses.
I have three stitches on the side of my foot – for the first time in my 37 years. I was a little freaked out by the whole minor procedure. Voluntarily harming my body to take off a mole that could be pre-cancerous (turns out that it was benign), seems strange. The kind MD said that I should take an antibiotic, especially after I told him my profession – yoga teacher = barefoot a lot. He said it was the best option since the stitches are on my foot, a difficult place to keep clean. At first I agreed and he gave me a prescription, but before I filled it second thoughts began to creep into my mind. Really is it necessary to put my body, especially my GI tract through this stress? Just a few months ago there was a study published showing that a few rounds of antibiotics weaken immune systems over the long haul.
As an Ayurvedic practitioner, I decided that this was a perfect time to practice what I preach – get over those fears instilled by the modern medical establishment
With my years of study of Ayurveda and natural healing methods, shouldn’t I be capable of preventing infection on a tiny wound on my foot?
Coincidentally last week I was reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book – Super Immunity and I had already started to add mushrooms, allium family and cruciferous vegetables to my diet.
I have an arsenal of herbs at my fingertips that I use with clients, and a vast set of wisdom in ayurveda and other traditional medicines.
I change my tactic, much to the chagrin of my husband and mother.
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May 18th,2012
Yoga |
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The lovely June
Each year when I travel to Koh Samui, Thailand to teach at Yoga Thailand, my first stop is at About Art Cafe, owned by the lovely June. She has two of the best items on Samui – muffins and chocolate cake. Unfortunately the chocolate cake is made by her friend and she won’t share. I did manage to sneak into their kitchen one Saturday morning to get her world-famous muffin recipe. Here I have translated from spoon, scoop, and cup into actual measurements.
Why are these muffins so good?
1. They taste good but healthy – we can taste the fresh ingredients.
2. They are moist but not too mushy.
3. They are dense but not too solid.
4. They are kissed with sweetness without being overwhelming.
This first attempt I mimicked June’s recipe to see that I could do it. My next attempt I will try to “veganise” by substituting 2 tablespoons of flax seeds for the eggs. I will also try with other types of flour like spelt, buckwheat and brown rice.
Muffins baked by June
Muffins baked by Jessica
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 can coconut milk
3/4 cup non-dairy milk, (So delicious coconut milk works well)
Mix above together until frothy.
Dry ingredients
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/4 cup toasted white sesame seeds
1/4 cup toasted black sesame seeds
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Mix dry ingredients together, gradually add dry ingredients.
Going into the Thai "oven"
Flavor variations – I divided the batter up into two portions and made Banana & Date muffins.
Banana muffins: add 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas, top with sliced banana & sesame seeds
Carrot muffins: 1 cup grated carrot + raisins, top with cashew nuts
Coconut muffins: 1 cup coconut meat (boiled slightly) + dry coconut, top with grated coconut & sesame seeds
Blueberry muffins: 1 cup blueberries in middle then put dough on top
Date muffins: add 1 cup chopped dates, top with chopped dates
Chocolate muffins: Use same dry ingredients, without sesame seeds, add vanilla, chocolate powder and additional sugar. Add wet to dry and mix. Top with chocolate chips.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. This may vary by oven type.
I can say that the Filipinos are one of the warmest people that I’ve known. Manila is a big, polluted city with pretty terrible traffic. Doesn’t matter, I really enjoy teaching in the Philippines precisely because of the people. They are warm, loving and gracious hosts. As students they are open, receptive and interested. I first taught there one year ago, and I had many Ayurvedic consultations. This year I returned to teach Ashtanga, Ayurveda and see clients. It was amazing how the interest had grown–I was booked out for consultations and the classes were quite full. The students are dedicated to the yoga and quite advanced. I haven’t helped that many people with second series in a long time. I enjoy the food, the people and the place.
Speaking of food, the native Filipino cuisine is amazing – fresh vegetables such as banana flower, beans, pumpkin cooked in coconut milk with fragrant herbs, light and comforting soups with winter melon and mung beans. Unfortunately the colonization by Spain and the spread of American culture has brought much meat and processed foods. And this is the only place I have encountered where people are told by doctors that beans cause uric acid. Due to the high amount of spice, oil and meat, there are many inflammatory-type problems. I have many people dietary advice they didn’t want to hear – cut out the meat and processed foods and cut down on oil. The good news is that they have a traditionally rich, delicious, vegetable-rich cuisine. I’ll see how they do next year when I return!
My lovely YT retreat group, here are a few more recipes that you might like:
Hemp Seed (or Cashew Nut) Pesto
Tridoshic recipe based on the use of hemp or cashew. For example, use quinoa for Kapha, and whole wheat pasta for Vata and Pitta. Vatas are allowed to drizzle a bit of extra olive oil onto the pasta. And parmesan cheese is optional too….
1 cup of hemp seeds (for PK) or 1/2 cup of lightly toasted cashew nuts or walnuts (for V)
2 cups basil
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked in boiled water, just enough to cover
1/2 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Put liquid ingredients into a blender or food processor, add the sun dried tomatoes and half of their soaking liquid, blend on medium speed, add nuts and blend, add salt, pepper and basil, blend a bit more until creamy. Add more of the tomato soaking liquid if needed. Serve over pasta or quinoa with edamame, tomatoes, broccoli, olives, for example.
Tridoshic Tofu
Most tofu comes soaked in water. If you would like it to absorb more flavor, you press it first to get rid of some of the water and make room for the flavors to soak in. This also makes it less likely to disintegrate while cooking. Remove the the tofu from the package, drain the water and squeeze it slightly to remove some of the water. Wrap it in a kitchen towel or two and set it on the counter. Balance a chopping block or a heavy book on top of the tofu. Let it rest for half and hour, flip (possibly change the towel) and let rest for another half an hour.
Basic tofu marinade
3 T balsamic vinegar
2 T tamari or soy sauce
1 t maple syrup or agave nectar
dash of pepper
1 chopped spring onion
1 tablespoon grated ginger
Tofu = 1 block extra firm tofu (around 14 ounces)
Press the tofu, prepare the marinade in a large shallow bowl. Cut the tofu in half down the middle, then cut each half additionally into 8 pieces. Marinate for at least an hour, flipping after 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F, place the tofu in a shallow baking dish, bake the tofu in the marinade for 20 minutes, flip and re-cover with marinade and bake an additional 10 minutes. To make extra chewy, broil for 3 minutes.
Stir-fried tofu
This is an easy recipe if you don’t have time to marinate and bake the tofu. You can also steam the tofu with a pot of veggies, then top with the listed ingredients.
1 T Sesame oil
1 T Tamari or soy sauce
1 T grated ginger
2 T rice vinegar or lemon juice
Press one block of extra firm tofu. Slice in half lengthwise (so it makes two thin blocks) cut each block into eight pieces. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet. Add the tofu and fry for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Mix the other ingredients together. Pour onto the tofu (be careful as the oil may splatter). Flip the tofu and fry again. Enjoy on a salad or with steamed veggies.
Thai Cole Slaw
This is a delicious and quick salad that is fantastic in the summer heat, because the flavors are simple yet intensely flavorful. Choose the vegetables according to your own preferences. Hearty vegetables like cabbage and carrots support the flavors of the sauce well. The vegetables can be steamed lightly to make them easier to digest. The dressing is also a delicious topping for steamed vegetables and rice.
Makes one large bowl of salad, enough for 8 people
Ingredients
1 head green cabbage
1/4 head purple cabbage
1 red pepper
1 yellow or orange pepper
1 carrot julienned or grated
1/2 cup chopped coriander (optional)
Dressing
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup peanuts
juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons chopped ginger
2 tablespoons of agave nectar
1/2-1 teaspoon Thai green curry
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro or basil
So simple to prepare. Mix all salad ingredients into a large bowl. Add all dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until the dressing makes a uniform mixture. You may want to add more green curry or salt. Mix the dressing into the vegetables. This salad is best after chilling for a couple hours – giving the flavors time to mature.
Yoga Thailand Summer Rolls
In Thailand the dipping sauce is usually Tamarind-based or with sesame, ginger and soy sauce. In Indonesia peanut sauce is most common – hint: use the salad dressing for the Thai Cole Slaw in the following recipe if you like peanuts.
This makes 10 rolls or more, depending on how much you stuff each one.
Summer Rolls
10-15 sheets of rice paper (a few to spare)
Your favorite chopped herbs and vegetables such as:
1 cup of chopped herbs such as mint, basil, dill or cilantro
2 cups chopped lettuce
1 carrot sliced into matchsticks
Around 20 green beans blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water
1 avocado cut into slivers
1 cucumber sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup red cabbage
steamed asparagus stalks
Assemble the rolls:
Fill a bowl as wide as the rice paper with warm water. Dip one sheet of rice paper into the water until soft, then place onto a flat surface like a chopping board. Place a small row of each ingredients onto the paper. Starting with the side that is close to you, roll the paper over the ingredients. Stop when halfway done and turn each side inward, like wrapping a present. Continue to roll until reaching the other side. Cover rolls tightly with plastic wrap to keep from drying out. Rolls can keep for 3-4 couple hours in the fridge before serving, and are best if assembled and served the same day. Ingredients and sauces can be prepped ahead of time.
Tamarind Sauce
1/4 cup dried tamarind
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro, keep the stems
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt to taste
3/4 cup + 1 cup water
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
Instructions
Put the dried tamarind fruit into a small bowl; cover with 3/4 cup of boiling water. Gently mash to soften and break up the tamarind rind, let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the tamarind rind through a sieve, then boil the liquid with 1 cup of water, cilantro stems, sugar and a dash of salt for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, add the peanuts, and cilantro to the tamarind; stir and serve.
Miso-Spring (Green) Onion Dressing
This dressing is great on a salad with romaine lettuce, cucumber, steamed carrots & broccoli, sprouts and edamame or another bean. I also like to cut up a few sheets of nori.
1/4 cup red miso
1 cup roughly chopped green onions
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped or grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons light agave nectar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
This is easy: toss everything into a blender and blend until smooth. Start with 1/2 cup of water and add as necessary. Chill until ready to use. Also delicious on salads or as a dipping sauce for vegetables.
Chocolate Fondue
1 cup Peanut Butter or to be healthier use 1 cup almond (P) or sunflower butter (K)
1/2 cup organic cacao
1 cup date paste or chopped dates soaked in a bit of water to soften
1 T vanilla
3/4-1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice – soy, hemp, rice, etc.
Optional 1 t cinnamon, cardamom or dried ginger.
Blend all ingredients in a food processor, add the milk as needed. This can be used as a dipping sauce for fruits….very decadent. Or chill the fondue, scoop into small balls and roll in coconut, another ground nut powder or cacao powder. Yum, yum!!!
Here are a few desserts made from WHOLE ingredients, they are especially kid-friendly. These are not going to be on a weight loss diet, however they are very good alternatives to packaged sweets. Many of these are adopted from Amandea Morningstar’s cookbook – Ayurvedic Cooking. Happy baking and making!
Key:
t = teaspoon
T = tablespoon
c = cup
K = Kapha
V = Vata
P = Pitta
1 cup = 8oz = 240 mL; 1 Teaspoon = 5 mL; 1 Tablespoon = 15 mL
Gluten Free Scones (Vegan)
Cookie checks out scones
Although I use the recipes on www.elenaspantry.com as a guide, her recipes are not vegan. I use 1 tablespoon of ground flax mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of water to replace one egg. Everyone LOVES these!
2 cups bleached almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1/4 cup dried apricots chopped finely
1/4 cup pistachios or hazelnuts, walnuts or any other nut; chopped coarsely.
1/4 cup sunflower seed or pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 egg or 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 Tablespoons of water.
2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup
If the nuts and seeds are raw, toast them lightly. This is very easy in a dry skillet. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dried fruits and nuts. Separately combine the agave and flax (or egg). Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Form a large ball with the dough. It should stick together but not be too sticky. Add a bit more water if the dough doesn’t form a ball. Form a flat square around 10x10cm and 2 cm thick on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Cut into sixteen squares. Bake 10-12 minutes until sightly brown at the edges.
Cookie loves scones
Sun balls (12 Servings)
Sunflower seeds 120 ml
Toasted sunflower seeds 6 t
Shredded Coconut (not for K) 120 ml
Raisins (not V) 2 1/2 T
Sunflower or almond butter 60 ml
Maple syrup 60 ml; For K, substitute 60ml soaked raisins for the maple syrup.
Almond extract (or vanila) 1 t
Coriander powder or cardamom powder 3/4 t
Blend/grind the seeds
In a bowl, mix together everything into a sticky dough
Form into balls and coat in extra coconut
_________________________________________
Date Balls (12 Servings)
Whole dried pitted dates 240 ml
Water 6 t
Brown Rice syrup 6 t
Vanilla 1 t
Tangerine peel 3 t
Blanched almonds, chopped 12 t
Carob powder or shredded coconut for rolling the balls 12 t
Cardamom (optional) 1 t
Chop the dates finely
Cook the dates, water, peel, syrup, and vanilla for 10 – 15 mins
Add the almonds and cardamom and let cool
Make balls and roll in the sugar/carob
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Apple Pie
Wholemeal Flour of your choice 225 g
Rising agent 5 g
Salt 1/4 t
Ground cinnamon 1 t
Mixed spice (use cloves, cardamom, ginger) 1 t
Raw brown sugar 100 g
Ghee or Butter 100 g
Apples, pealed and chopped 350 g
Egg, beaten 1
Grease and line a 19 cm square cake pan
In a large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, mixed spice, sugar
Rub in Ghee or butter until fine crumbles
Add apples and egg and stir in quickly
Put in baking pan and bake at 190 degrees C for about 40 minutes.
_____________________________________________
Crepes (6 Servings)
Crepes are a healthy and festive treat. These can be filled with sauteed vegetables, a bit of cheese and pesto. My favorite is caramelized onions with spinach and a bit of tomato. Get decadent and add a bit of goat’s cheese! You can make these delicious desserts with a bit of dark chocolate and strawberries, or simply raw sugar and lemon.
Milk (Soy, Almond or Rice) 360 ml
Flour of your choice 150 g Buckwheat is traditionally used.
Pinch of Salt (3/10) t
Arrowroot or Cornstarch 18 ml
Ghee, butter or oil 18 ml
Blend everything and let sit for 1 hour at least
Cook them in a flat pan, use ghee to keep crepes from sticking. Use a spoonful of batter, spread until thin on the pan. When the crepe looks cooked on the edges turn. Place the ingredients onto the crepe and fold the four corners over the ingredients.
___________________________________________
Fruit Crisp (Serves 6)
Berry, Cherry, Peach or Apricot 5 c
Cornstarch or Arrowroot 2.5 T
Lemon Juice 1 T
Brown Sugar 2 T
Brown Sugar 100 gr – this amount can be adjusted based on your taste.
Flour 90 gr – whole wheat, buckwheat, brown rice spelt or rye and be used. The amount of oil/butter may need to increase with drier flours.
Rolled Oats 145 gr
Salt 2.5 ml
Cinnamon 1/2 t
Butter 165 gr or coconut oil for a vegan recipe.
Chop fruit and mix in other fruit-mix things
Put fruit on oiled baking dish
Mix topping ingredients together
Lay over fruit
Bake on 200 degrees C until light brown and crispy
________________________________________
Brown Sugar Walnut Squares (16 squares)
Brown Sugar 1 c
Vanilla 1 t
Egg 1
All-purpose flour 0.5 c
Baking soda 0.25 t
Salt 0.25 t
Coarsely chopped walnuts 1 c
Combine sugar, vanilla, and egg. Stir until smooth and blended. Combine
flour, soda, and salt. Add to sugar mixture; stir until blended. Spoon
into greased and paper lined 8-inch square pan. Bake in 350 degree oven 18
to 20 minutes. (Cookies will be soft in center.) Cool in pan. Remove
from pan, peel off paper, and cut into 16 squares.
_______________________________________________
Generic nut/seed balls (makes about 20 x 50 gr balls)
Seeds and or nuts, ground 600 gr
Syrup or runny honey 400 gr or substitute soaked and chopped raisins, dates or apricots 400 gr
Spices like cardamom, cinnamon, coriander 2 gr
(Tonifying spices like ashwaganda, shatavari) (20) gr
Can add spirulina 20 gr
I’ve been in Thailand for a couple days, and it is amazing how the feeling is the same. The island of Samui is growing and booming. I arrived at 10pm, and on the way to the retreat center, the island was bustling with activity. It seems to keep getting busier each time.
There is a Teacher Training ending at Yoga Thailand, so I was staying off-site for a couple days in a friend’s place. The island has these small little roads with houses built up onto stilts. Simple, clean and comfortable. Each time I come there are small changes in the faces at the retreat center. One of my favorite people and also one of the original staff at YT has moved back to her homeland, better for her but she is missed! There seem to be more employees each time. Su, the main cook, and Eiw, who runs the shop, have been with YT since the beginning. I love seeing them again each year.
The BEST banana muffin
I am at Art Cafe, my favorite place for breakfast. I especially love June, the owner. She is a true yogi, you can see it in her smile and generosity. This morning they let me watch while they made muffins. Even though she has employees, she still comes in to do most of the baking herself. She takes care to each detail. You can also see this in her art. It is beautiful, and better that it comes from her hands.
Yogi June at About Art Cafe
Each full moon she cooks wonderful food and opens the cafe up to the public. She collects donations for a charity. I couldn’t make it yesterday, but love the fact that she does this…and also makes sure that each person is taken care of.
Her cafe, and especially the food served has a warm, soul-nourishing quality. The positive energy and love that goes into the food and the small details makes a world of difference. Each time I come to Samui I look forward to Saturday mornings at the Art Cafe.
I had about 36 hours in London, between the time in Scotland to my flight to Koh Samui. I was wishing I had more time in London, however, there
Espresso at the Tate Modern
is so much to do there, one could spend years. My primary goals were to do a bit of shopping, catch up with friends and visit Ashtanga Yoga London. Not necessarily all yogic, but yogic in the sense that I’m being true to my self and not pretending to be otherwise.
I spent 8 years living in the south of France and working all over Europe. From this time I have many friends and contacts, many of whom are in London. Just being in London I thought a lot about my “past life” when working at a corporate job with Accenture. Even though my life has changed a lot, and I no longer wear a suit or work in big, flashy offices, I am grateful for my time at Accenture and have fond memories of my time there. These experiences helped to put me onto a yogic path. I liked the external aspects of the job – being well paid, treated well and some of the travel. I didn’t like the internal aspects, somehow I felt like I wasn’t fulfilling my purpose in life. I could have continued with them, and maybe even been partner by now — having a big salary and status.
Being Tourists
This voice inside of me always couldn’t accept this path as my final one, and prompted me to take steps, sometimes unconscious, to change things. Pretty much from my first class, I had a strong desire to go deeper in yoga. A part of this was about being ambitious and wanting to be the best at what I do, but another part was about feeling at home with myself after yoga classes. Through my years of work at Accenture I hadn’t felt at home with myself, it always felt like a game – companies paid big money for my time as a consultant, and I sometimes felt like it was so phony.
Ashtanga Yoga London
I’ve learned that people all over have good inside them. I retain some close friendships from that time and would never want to re-live it another way. Often we assume that people in yoga are somehow morally higher than the rest, but I would disagree. People are the same no matter what they “do” externally. It is the internal self, the intuition and the source of wisdom which is common amongst us all. I’ve been the target of some beautiful and some nasty behavior at the hands of yogis who can put on a very peaceful and good face to others. Yoga is about integration of the personality, so that we are incapable of being nice to one group and mean to another. In this regard, business employees can be similar to yogis – nice to those within their group or company and ruthless with others.
So I was very happy in London to meet some very good friends from my past, and especially to see the progression of their lives, new beginnings and endings, but the same at heart….and so am was I.
Blackloch, Scotland
The setting was ideal for understanding how living in harmony with nature facilitates a deeply balanced being. This is evident on a large scale – when we put effort into taking care of and tending to a garden or the environment, it will help us by yielding fresh, natural foods. When we take care of ourselves by giving our cells natural nourishment by creating foods and meals from scratch and eating whole foods, we will feel better from the inside out. The natural surroundings for the retreat at Blackloch were spectacular, albeit sometimes a little wet. We cooked up healthy meals with help from others in the family, and enjoyed five days with the other yogis.
Anne Lonsdale teaching at Blackloch
Yoga is about union with ourselves – finding that sense of complete self harmony. When you are in a state of yoga you rest with your true nature. Yoga gives us a set of tools to come to that goal – asanas, pranayama, kriyas and meditation. All lead us to that place, helping to uncover the dust that may cover our inner jewel. The work of yoga is to clear away that which is not needed, not our essence or true self. When we practice yoga at a deep level we commit to developing awareness of our thoughts, emotions, words and actions as extensions of ourselves. Yoga techniques can help us in this process, but they are not the goal. Self-discovery is the goal. And ultimately we cannot rely on gurus or teachers to do this for us.
On the path
What we passed on is what we learned from our teachers, tools that have helped us along the way. Pranayama, asana and kriyas are tools and techniques that clear our “dust” in multi-layers. Pranayama cleans and purifies the nadis or subtle channels of the body, eventually allowing pranic currents to flow freely. Kriyas remove physical impurities caused by diet, environmental toxins and lifestyle. When practiced with intelligence and awareness, asana wakes up the body. Practice with awareness of the breath and the sensations that arise brings about new states of consciousness. Asana speeds up the release of toxins from the body through the lymphatic and respiratory system.
At the retreat, our emphasis was on being and doing. We do the practices and we try to remain present. Being in our lives rather than distracting ourselves. Yoga transforms. The practices transform us — but we have to let the yoga happen. Pranayama is key to this transformation. I taught asana influenced by my background in Ashtanga Vinyasa, with an emphasis on alignment and moving slowly with the breath. I have recently been strongly influenced by the teachings of Richard Freeman, which encourage a focus on the intelligence (e.g. prana) as it moves through the body, guided by asana and eventually pranayama.
Enjoying kitcharee
The retreat was intense and we witnessed changes all of the participants. physical evident changes in their faces and praniclly felt in the pulse. When combined with a healthy diet, the yoga practices put us on a journey to transformation.
We had a great time, and I even got to connect with Marley, the beautiful and sweet in-house dogi at Blackloch.
Marley the dogi
July 17th,2011
Ashtanga Yoga,
Ayurveda,
Cooking,
Stress management,
Travel,
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I had a very nice time teaching the group at Pure Yoga. I was amazed that they were able to grasp so many of the concepts and seemed at least to be very interested in the topics. We had 12 hours of learning together, we covered quite a lot. I learned that KALE, my most favorite vegetable is not readily available. Edamame is also only available in sushi restaurants. On the other hand, GMO products are not allowed in Europe, something I could only dream of in the USA. The fresh produce is very nice, and tastes like it has come from a farm rather than a factory. There are many types of “biomarche” or organic markets. In New Orleans, we have on choice only for high quality & organic products. I love that in Europe there are many small organic supermarkets, not only one choice.
Helene and Jessica
The group asked very good questions and grasped many of the concepts. This makes me happy as a teacher and is inspiring to know that there is such interest in Ayurveda.
The Pure Yoga Possey
Everyone recycles and very few people use plastic bags. People also use public transport more readily and walk/ride bikes much more than we do. The weather in Vienna can be unwelcoming in different ways from New Orleans heat.
Viennese weather has not been as welcoming! It is cold, grey and raining a lot. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be nice again, just in time for my flights to Edinburgh, Scotland.
These were my very best students: Lilli and Jakob:
Lilli and Jakob the best students
7:46 am Saturday morning in Vienna. I had a nice sleep in. My teaching doesn’t start until 10:15 and I’m relishing the quiet time. Last night I taught the first part of my 5-Workshop Ayurveda series to a group of 25+ students at Pure Yoga Vienna, an Ashtanga studio owned by my very good friend Horst Rinnerberger. Horst and I met some eight years ago on a beach in Koh Samui, Thailand at the original Yoga Thailand. It was just before both of us went on our first visits to Mysore. Over the years, we’ve been on several trips to Mysore together – with his new wife Petra, and then Lilli their daughter, and even one trip with Lilli and Jakob, their future son in Petra’s belly.
Horst opened a studio in Vienna in 2005 while I continued to work at Yoga Thailand and travel to India. A bit later I made a move home to New Orleans, after having lived abroad for 10 years. Now we both have yoga studios in our home towns. I am struck by some interesting differences in our experiences owning studios and how the manifestation of yoga is impacted by the cultural factors in a place. I am delighted to have these experiences, having the chance to share what I’ve gotten from yoga and ayurveda is a major gift. To do this while visiting some of my very best friends around the world is incredible.
I think it might be difficult to find two more different cities – Vienna and New Orleans. There are a few similarities – great coffee houses, an appreciation for the arts, and for meaty local food, public transport by trams…However there are some differences – Vienna is very clean, well run, has awesome public transport and a “trust” system on the metros, very few poor people. It is also very “white” compared to New Orleans. I have seen only a handful of minorities. People seem to follow the rules.
Getting to yoga, I give you an example of a differences.
Time. Everyone arrives on time and is ready to go at the start of the workshop time.
Committing ahead of time. For my workshop, 24 of the 25 participants had paid several days before the workshop. Another example, when Horst announced Tiwari’s workshop, it was full within two days. People are not afraid to commit to something far ahead of time. In New Orleans, I feel like sometimes there is the attitude that something better might come along….like one of our 50 yearly festivals that fall on a weekend. So people must wait and see what will happen. In New Orleans, we almost never are sure how many people will attend, because inevitably people come at the last minute.
Committing to all. Here people come to all parts of workshops. They are scheduled at times when most people don’t work, evenings and weekend days. Still in NOLA people almost never will give up all of their weekend days for a yoga function. Once in a while if it is a very famous teacher, but not the norm.
I am not trying to diss- or dismiss the NOLA yogis. New Orleans is definitely not a city synonymous with discipline. It is friendly and very welcoming and so are the students. I feel like I’ve been completely taken in and welcomed in such a short time there. Having lived abroad for so many years I moved back knowing pretty much only my family. Not that the Viennese aren’t, but there is definitely a shyness here or perhaps a social reserve. The students in New Orleans are far from reserved.
The yoga community is largely quite supportive in New Orleans. Horst is kind of a stand alone guy in his community — there doesn’t seem to be a lot of cross-over or socializing amongst yogis outside of his shala. I feel very lucky to now share the studio with so many great teachers, and especially a great partner. And the wider New Orleans yoga community for the most part has been very supportive of the studio, rather than feeling threatened. We promote and attend events at other studios, as other teachers and students attend events at Balance.
This is enough intellectual activity for now. It’s time for Pranayama practice….
