Author Archives: unfold-yoga
Happy Cat Month
As mentioned in an earlier post, September is Happy Cat Month. Week one focused on how to keep kitty healthy, while week two focuses on enrichment.
Enrichment, if you’re unfamiliar with the term, means providing mental stimulus that complements a cat’s natural behavior. Toys that mimic hunting, furniture or towers that can let a cat get vertical, or food games are all enrichment tools that help cats mimic their natural prey drive. You can buy them or create your own.
Keeping your cat not only physically but mentally healthy will lead to a better experience for the entire household.
Peace,
Debra
Happy Cat Month
September is Happy Cat Month. Week one focuses on Happy Healthy Cats. Cats are amazingly self-sufficient creatures, but they still need a safe place to live, food and water, and proper vet care. A healthy cat is a happier cat.
Meows and kisses,
Debra
It’s My Birthday!
Today’s my birthday. Here’s the number one song from the day I was born. Feel free to dance down the street like Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
Peace,
Debra
National Yoga Month: Lovingkindness Theme
September is National Yoga Month, so expect lots of random yoga-related musings this month!
Today I thought I would talk about themes in relation to planning and teaching classes. Often when I plan a class, my theme focuses on one or more parts of the body (I’m a rather practical person, so such a practical themes come easily for m). For the past couple of weeks, however, I’ve focused on concepts like gratitude and kindness.
My inspiration for the kindness classes was, of all things, a post on the site scarymommy.com. I tweaked the author’s daily question to her children, “Who were you kind to?” to “How were you kind today?” and asked students to meditate on that question while in a pose (yin and restorative yoga both lend themselves well to this with their long holds).
In some of my classes, I also used a version of the metta mediation. You can learn more about metta meditation here. The version of the meditation that I used in class is below: the first round is directed at bringing lovingkindness to ourselves; the next round is directed at some we feel needs lovingkindess directed to them; and the last round is directed to all the earth.
May I be free from suffering.
May I be well.
May I be at peace.
May I be joyful.
May I be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be well.
May you be at peace.
May you be joyful.
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be at peace.
May all beings be joyful.
May all beings be filled with lovingkindness.
Thanks for reading!
Debra
Dream Day Quest and Jubilee
The 3rd of three annual Emancipation Days of Respect, Dream Day Quest and Jubilee honors the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by promoting unity, respect and remembrance. Held on August 28th to mark the anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Delivered in 1963, the speech calls for the end of racism in the United States. You can read the full text here or listen to it here.
Unfortunately, racism is all too alive in America. We need to own up to that and we need to do what we can to fix it. Mindfulness can help us build self-awareness but should also help us be aware of others’ experiences. We are all in this together and we are all one.
I have a dream that someday MLK’s dream can be realized and that I will have the courage to help it come true.
In peace and unity,
Debra
National Coffee Month: Thai Iced Coffee
August is National Coffee Month! Coffee is one of my favorite things in the world. While I generally drink it black, I do love Thai iced coffee so I was super excited to try this recipe from the Food.com.
Thai Iced Coffee (4 servings)
- ground coffee, sufficient to make 4 cups brewed
- 4 T. sugar
- 4 T. heavy cream
- 2 t. ground cardamom
- 1 t. almond flavoring
- crushed ice
- Add the cardamom to the ground coffee, and brew the coffee; when the coffee is brewed, add the sugar and almond flavoring, mix well and then let the coffee cool to lukewarm.
- Fill four 12 ounce highball glasses half-way to the rim with crushed ice and then fill two-thirds full with coffee; into each glass, stir about 1 tablespoon of heavy cream.
- To achieve a layered effect, hold a spoon on top of the coffee and pour the cream slowly into the spoon so that the cream floats on top of the glass over the coffee.
This recipe turned out great and I’m sure it would be almost as good with some healthy substitutions.
Enjoy!
Debra
John Lee Hooker
On this day in 1912, blues great John Lee Hooker was born. I like his song Boom Boom so much that I’m going to share it here twice — once just for the pure joy of watching him play guitar and again because it’s one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies. Enjoy!
National Coffee Month
August is National Coffee Month and why not keep it simple. I love a strong black coffee brewed via French press for 6 minutes. Enjoy your coffee your favorite way today!
National Watermelon Day
Watermelon is wonderful just as it is but if you want to do a little something different for National Watermelon Day, Emeril Lagasse’s My First Watermelon Granita can be a fun change of pace. This is one of my favorite summertime treats. This time when I made it, I used a yellow seedless watermelon that had a bright, citrus-y flavor on it’s own. The recipe intensified the citrus-y element, which makes for wonderfully bright and light taste.
My First Watermelon Granita
- 5 cups peeled and seeded watermelon chunks (from about a 3-pound slice of watermelon)
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Place the watermelon chunks in the bowl of a blender or a food processor, replace the top, and blend on high speed until very smooth. Turn the blender off.
- Transfer the watermelon puree to a mixing bowl and add the sugar and lime juice.
- Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer the mixing bowl to the freezer and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the freezer and use a fork to scrape any ice crystals from the sides of the bowl. Stir to incorporate the crystals. Return to the freezer.
- Repeat this scraping procedure every 30 minutes, or until the consistency is “snowy” when scraped with a fork or spoon, at least 4 hours. Then scoop into bowls or dessert glasses and serve.
Bon appetit!
Debra
