Here’s a list of things I want to always remember to do, continue to do… as often as possible! Create your own list, too!

*Love. Love. Love. Love.

*Love and appreciate my body, even when it’s changing or different than what I wish it were.

*Get outdoors, in nature, even for just 10 minutes.

*Continue to inspire myself while inspiring others.

*Pamper myself in some way: a bath, a massage from my hubby, paint my nails, mini facial

*Get exercise, get the blood flowing, sweat.

*Make love, with my partner or with myself!

*Have quiet time where I shut down from the world, for even 10 minutes. Meditation, or just a time when I put my phone on silent and take deep breaths and appreciate.

*Read something that brings me pleasure.

*Eat something that brings me pleasure.

*WRITE IN MY JOURNAL! OR DRAW! express myself.

*Be forgiving: with myself and others.

*Snuggle with my dog. Let him lick my face. Life’s too short to care.

*Speak up for myself.

*Ride my bike.

*Be playful. Laugh. Giggle.

*YOGA. live it. LOVE IT. do it. on and off the mat!

*Eat beautiful, organic, natural foods. As many colors as possible!

*Take too many pictures.

*Keep learning and growing. Evolving is what life is about!

*remember it’s OKAY to be WRONG.

*Share with EVERYBODY.

*Express gratitude, send thank you cards. Remember Birthdays.

My husband, Adi Jaffe, is getting his PhD in Psychology at UCLA. His goal is to help people who are addicted to anything from gambling, to sex, to drugs and alcohol find healthier ways to cope with life. Therefore, we have a lot in common! Yoga and eating healthy food, in my opinion, are two of the greatest coping mechanism when dealing with life’s obstacles and greatest challenges. We are both dedicating our lives to helping others figure out the best way to navigate this ship we call life, both in our individual and unique ways.

A New Tool in Addiction Treatment

There are so many ways to treat addiction, and just like he states in a post he wrote, “different methods work for different people…if there’s a tool that can help, we need to put it into action.”

He’s also been working on a system of matching each person to a treatment facility that is the best possible “fit” for that individual. The person goes onto his website, and after answering a few questions, the system figures out what would be the best match for them. As he explains, “We’re currently testing a system that will use some basic, and some a bit more advanced, criteria to help direct addicts towards the right provider for them. Don’t have much money and working full-time? Then residential treatment should probably not be your first choice? Medicated for schizophrenia? You better stay away from providers that don’t offer serious mental health services (though they’ll sure take you if you walk through their doors)” This amazing new tool will be available in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!!!

(This rehab finder is NOW AVAILABLE! click here to access this phenomenal tool)

The point here? We’re not all the same. We are extraordinarily unique individuals with equally as unique issues. These issues could be worked out in a million different ways, and it’s important that we are treated by and as the one-of-a kind person we are to get through these issues in a healthy way.

Yoga and Healthy Coping

There are all kinds of ways to cope with life’s challenges. One way is by getting yourself to a yoga class and working out your issues on your mat. Yoga is a beautiful metaphor for life. As you practice yoga, moving through the asanas (postures/poses), you move as gracefully and truthfully as possible. Wherever you are that day, maybe you’re in a crappy mood, you’re just doing the best you can: moving, growing, evolving. Just as in life.

Camel Pose-Backbend

Back bends, for example, are a natural way to release endorphins. Natural opioids (also called endogenous opioids), which include endorphins, are used by the body to relieve pain and increase relaxation, especially during periods of extreme stress. These are the chemicals that make sure we can function during accidents, like after breaking our leg.

This chemical is released during yoga over and over again, which is why we feel so good during the class and for hours following the practice.

After a light warmup, you can practice back bends in the comforts of your home. It’s a great way to relax before bedtime or if you begin to enter into dangerous space or get thrown off track. After your body is warm, a really gentle pose to try is upward facing dog or Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.

Try This Heart Opening Yoga Pose

upward facing dog

1) Lie prone on the floor. Stretch your legs back, with the tops of your feet on the floor. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your waist so that your forearms are relatively perpendicular to the floor.

2) Inhale and press your inner hands firmly into the floor and slightly back, as if you were trying to push yourself forward along the floor. Then straighten your arms and simultaneously lift your torso up and your legs a few inches off the floor on an inhalation. Keep the thighs firm and slightly turned inward, the arms firm and turned out so the elbow creases face forward.

3) Press the tailbone toward the pubis and lift the pubis toward the navel. Narrow the hip points. Firm but don’t harden the buttocks.

4) Firm the shoulder blades against the back and puff the side ribs forward. Lift through the top of the sternum but avoid pushing the front ribs forward, which only hardens the lower back. Look straight ahead or tip the head back slightly, but take care not to compress the back of the neck and harden the throat.

5) Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. You can also practice this pose individually, holding it anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds, breathing easily. Release back to the floor or lift into Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog) with an exhalation.

Impulse control has a lot to do with ones addictive behavior. If we can learn to regulate our impulses in healthy ways, i.e. through healthy challenges like sitting through an entire yoga class, we can figure out ways to bring this control off the mat and into our everyday habits.

There are so many healthy ways to cope with life’s challenges other than reaching for an unhealthy addictive substance or turning to an addictive behavior. One extremely healthy way to face obstacles in one’s life is by getting into your body to get out of your head or repetitive unhealthy patterns. Yoga is a wonderful way to connect inward.

Adi Jaffe writes for a website/blog called All About Addiction, which is a great resource for the latest cutting edge research and science in the addiction and psychological realms. He also contributes to Psychology Today, another amazing resource.

awe-some!

I met Krista 5 years ago while in school at UCLA. I found her teaching challenging, familiar and full of love. She inspired me and made me come back for more, time and again. Since then I’ve become a teacher myself and continue to practice with her in Santa Monica. Learn more about her in this fun interview we had! She’s featured on the cover of OM Magazine this month-check her out!

“I look forward each day to the possibility that my practice both on and off the mat can promote a greater awareness in our immediate need for global peace and unification. ALL is ONE.”- Krista

1. Where are you from? San Diego
2. When did you start practicing yoga? I was a dancer and my teacher recommended I start yoga to bring balance and get grounded. I began in Tim Miller’s teeny tiny 1 room Ashtanga studio, went every day for 3 months straight and was addicted right off the bat!
3. What did you want to “be” when you grew up? Jockey or ballet dancer. I’ve always been physical, since I was little.
4. Where and when did you meet your husband? I met Brock in Venice, CA in Annie Carpenter’s yoga class… practicing together in a teacher intensive, and that was it. <3
5. How did the awesome Hardtail connection happen? My good friend Courtney’s parents own Hardtail and we take pictures together for the ads, it’s an amazing opportunity. (we love your pictures!)
6. What is your overall intention when you walk into a yoga room to teach? Inspire the people in the room to do yoga the next day to give them enough passion to want to show up tomorrow. (she definitely accomplishes this!!)
   
7. What keeps you balanced? My yoga practice keeps me balanced, my husband, every day reminding myself how lucky I am to be a yoga teacher and that I realized my path so early.
8. What throws you off center? Hectic travel schedule, human characteristics…that we are fallible and attracted to things that are imbalanced.
9. Who inspires you? My husband inspires me. My students inspire me and teach me so much. Other yoga teachers who contain the professional fortitude and discipline to do what they do everyday.
10. What inspires you? Music. all music. Every kind. Where we live… the weather!!
11. What advice do you have for a beginner yoga student? The first day is the hardest. The more you practice the easier and more inspiring it gets.
12. What advice do you have for someone who’s practiced for years? Never stop seeking to learn, there’s a depth in the practice that you can’t see
    
13. what is it about handstands that you love? It’s fun!! Having fun makes people want to do yoga and trying knew things makes people want to do yoga! For me, it gives me always something to come to class for because there’s always something to develop to show my students.
14. What do you think about energy? It’s the reason we do yoga. It feels good to have energy moving and it feels bad when it is stagnant.
15. Do you eat raw food? salad.
16. What’s your favorite food (doesn’t have to be healthy or raw!) chips and salsa definitely number one on my list!
17. You’ve mentioned you’ve done a cleanse before. What do you think about cleanses? Great!! Not only does it clean out and inspire your body, but your mind too. Everything you procrastinate with in day to day life comes forward and you accomplish all your goals… it’s definitely not just physical.
18. Do you have a favorite quote? “Those who say ‘It Can’t be Done’ should get out of the way who are doing it!”

“YOGA IS REALLY CHANGING THE WORLD”-Krista Cahill

Krista teaches workshops and retreats around the world and has regular classes based in Los Angeles (yogisanonymous). Krista teaches a vigorous Vinyasa Flow class filled with challenging arm balances and inversions. She believes that our obstacles are our greatest blessings. Krista and her husband Brock Cahill live their Yoga together in Venice Beach, California. Email Krista at: krista@kristacahill.com

I interviewed Tamal Dodge, owner and founder of YogaCo in Santa Monica, CA. I received my 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher training from Tamal last year.

Where are you from? The north shore of Oahu.

When did you start practicing yoga? I started from birth as my family raised us in a donation based yoga ashram.

What did you want to “be” when you grew up? I wanted to be a rock star and I pursued it for a while in my high school years. I was signed to MM Records and toured the country. It was an interesting time.

What is your overall intention when you walk into a yoga room to teach? I want to teach the best class possible. If I feel it was an okay class I feel I some how didnt deliver to the students. That I didn’t give them 100%. I want to give them something special every time.

What keeps you balanced? Mediating every day and spare moment.

What throws you off center? Well everyone gets those curve balls in life. The unexpected. But when I find myself in those situations I have to meditate and reset my intention for life. Because usually when you are in distress it’s because you wanted something to go your way and it doesn’t. So you have to be able to eat humble pie and move on.

Who inspires you? This may sound cliche but its the way I truly feel.

I am inspired by Buddha, Jesus, Alaha, Arjuna, Ghandi (left)… as they made significant change and didnt care what other people thought. they just wanted to speak “Truth.” Not to mention they lived and breathed what they taught. It’s inspiring.

What advice do you have for a beginner yoga student? like anything in life the first time you do it your not gonna get it perfect. I encourage students to go slow and do what they can and try to make it fun vs something your trying to get something out of.

What advice do you have for someone who’s practiced for years? The word Yoga means to Yoke or unite with God. So for someone who is practicing the asana for some time would be to take there practice to the next level of yoga. To mediate and start on the process of yoking with the higher being.

what is your favorite yoga pose or series and why? I love A and B series in sun salutes. Its so balanced. If you can only do A and B series in a day thats all you really need!

Do you eat raw food? Yes I love raw food. I was a raw foodist for 1 year in high school. Now I just eat the yoga diet (i.e. no meat, fish or eggs) lots of greens and and whole grains. Water is my beverage of choice.

What’s your favorite food? (doesn’t have to be healthy!!!!) I love veggie burgers, sweet heart fries and a oogave root beer.

Do you have a favorite quote? “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” ~Ghandi  These are words to live by.

This is the first in a series of interviews.

I’ve heard so many horror stories about yoga teachers and personal trainers (or not) taking their students or clients to unsafe territories in their bodies.

Working out isn’t supposed to make you want to throw up, and yoga isn’t supposed to hurt. Practicing it is supposed to make you feel better, but doing it wrong is just dangerous.

After being a personal trainer at Equinox in Santa Monica and working as a yoga teacher at several studios including a gym, I’ve seen it all. Students wobble into class injured, saying they can hardly walk due to an injury from their last class. I’ve had students not come to my class for months because of an injury they received after going to another yoga class that took them far beyond their capabilities. Obviously, this is all subjective and students/clients should monitor their own bodies. But seriously, some teachers are out of control. I’ve heard about a certain incredibly famous power yoga teacher actually popping a students rib out of place from pressing too hard on his back. Some teachers assist and have no proper training in how to do so. Not cool.

Weekend Warriors

Often times people get hurt because they assume that yoga is simple and that anybody can pretzel himself or herself on demand. Edward Toriello, an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons says, most of the injuries he sees are sustained by “weekend warrior” baby boomers who being yoga or work outs without realizing that their bodies are no longer what they used to be.”They think yoga is an easy way to start exercises, so they go to class once a week, not stretched out at all and they get hurt.”

Same goes for cardio and especially for weight lifting. I had many clients who insisted on benching more weight “because it’s what they did in college” but what they don’t realize, is that they aren’t that person anymore. That’s when they get injured and then have to lay off exercise for weeks to properly heal.  Functional strength training is much more effective for optimal results.

Legit?

Part of the problem is that increasingly, the people teaching yoga don’t know enough about it. Yoga was traditionally taught one-on-one, over many years. Today’s instructors can take a yoga teacher training course in just one weekend. Luckily, to be in the Yoga Alliance (formed in 1999) has set a minimum of 200 hours for instructors to be certified. Unfortunately, only 16,168 of the over 70,000 yoga teachers are actually in the Yoga Alliance. This is a very pertinent issue, especially when it comes to injury.

Wherever you chose to practice or work out, studio, gym or with a personal trainer at the beach, just make sure you listen to your own body and take care of yourself. If you don’t, nobody else can be expected to. Warm up before activity/exercise, then stretch when muscles are warm, and stretch for a longer amount of time after activities. For Weekend Warriors, if you can’t get to the gym other than weekends, be sure to stretch during the week for 10-15 minutes… it will make a world of difference! And If something hurts... stop doing it!

I’ve heard so many horror stories about yoga teachers and personal trainers (or not) taking their students or clients to unsafe territories in their bodies.

Working out isn’t supposed to make you want to throw up, and yoga isn’t supposed to hurt. Practicing it is supposed to make you feel better, but doing it wrong is just dangerous.

After being a personal trainer at Equinox in Santa Monica and working as a yoga teacher at several studios including a gym, I’ve seen it all. Students wobble into class injured, saying they can hardly walk due to an injury from their last class. I’ve had students not come to my class for months because of an injury they received after going to another yoga class that took them far beyond their capabilities. Obviously, this is all subjective and students/clients should monitor their own bodies. But seriously, some teachers are out of control. I’ve heard about a certain incredibly famous power yoga teacher actually popping a students rib out of place from pressing too hard on his back. Some teachers assist and have no proper training in how to do so. Not cool.

Weekend Warriors

Often times people get hurt because they assume that yoga is simple and that anybody can pretzel himself or herself on demand. Edward Toriello, an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons says, most of the injuries he sees are sustained by “weekend warrior” baby boomers who being yoga or work outs without realizing that their bodies are no longer what they used to be.”They think yoga is an easy way to start exercises, so they go to class once a week, not stretched out at all and they get hurt.”

Same goes for cardio and especially for weight lifting. I had many clients who insisted on benching more weight “because it’s what they did in college” but what they don’t realize, is that they aren’t that person anymore. That’s when they get injured and then have to lay off exercise for weeks to properly heal.  Functional strength training is much more effective for optimal results.

Legit?

Part of the problem is that increasingly, the people teaching yoga don’t know enough about it. Yoga was traditionally taught one-on-one, over many years. Today’s instructors can take a yoga teacher training course in just one weekend. Luckily, to be in the Yoga Alliance (formed in 1999) has set a minimum of 200 hours for instructors to be certified. Unfortunately, only 16,168 of the over 70,000 yoga teachers are actually in the Yoga Alliance. This is a very pertinent issue, especially when it comes to injury.

Wherever you chose to practice or work out, studio, gym or with a personal trainer at the beach, just make sure you listen to your own body and take care of yourself. If you don’t, nobody else can be expected to. Warm up before activity/exercise, then stretch when muscles are warm, and stretch for a longer amount of time after activities. For Weekend Warriors, if you can’t get to the gym other than weekends, be sure to stretch during the week for 10-15 minutes… it will make a world of difference! And If something hurts... stop doing it!

Reporting in from InSpiral Lounge- London, England

I’m writing this review as I sit in this lively raw organic vegetarian restaurant (and Vegan) in Camden Town, London. I’m sitting at a small wooden table with uneven chairs, by the glowing Himalayan sea salt figure light source, while the energetic African music smiles in my ears.

I just finished eating a raw nut burger, what they call their “Sunfood Burger”. It was a little dry, but overall very tasty and I basically swallowed it whole.With every dish you purchase, you get 3 sides included, so I chose 3 raw salads with bright, vibrant colors and distinct familiar tastes. It’s been 3 days since I’ve had this food I love so dearly, so I practically licked the plate.

My husband and I drove back to London today from Belgium in order for me to work for this restaurant, InSprial. This is our “honeymoon”, or at least our version of it. It’s not that we aren’t enjoying each other, or totally infatuated with each other: it’s just that we love our jobs that much. We are in Europe and by day we walk around on the bustling streets and go have European cappuccinos (mine with soy obviously) and for a few hours each day we bring our computers and tap into our clients, blog readers and the jobs we love so dearly.

Which brings me to this moment:

At first I thought it was oxymoronic to say “healthy food in London” BOY WAS I WRONG!

I emailed InSprial before leaving for England, after finding them on the internet, explaining I was coming to London for two weeks and would love to do a workshop for them on raw food or help in the kitchen. A week later, I received an enthusiastic reply, indicating they would put me in touch with their head chef. A few days later Enzo, their vegetarian cook, wrote asking if I could help the restaurant recreate their raw menu for the New Year. I obviously said Yes… with zero attempt at hiding my zealous vigor.

I met with Enzo last week and we discussed his ideas and what he needs from me. In the quickest hour of my life, I told him what I thought of the dishes they already have, he told me what he thought, and within 60 minutes we had a plan. He needed 7 new raw salads with superfoods in the dressings or in the salad & 2 new entree’s-one raw sushi dish and one random dish using my incredible imagination

We decided on my hours for this week (so that Adi and I could go to Paris and Belgium for a few days) and voila! Here we are! I showed him all my work–the 7 new recipes and 2 entrees–and he loved all of them.

Here’s a sneak preview on my ideas:

• Sprouted Mung Bean Salad with Sesame Seeds and a Raw Tahini Lime Dressing

• Edible Flower Mixed Greens Salad with Fresh Raspberries, Agave Soaked Goji Berries and a Creamy Lemon-Maca Dressing

• Raw Caesar Salad with Baby Jam Lettuce, Raw Parmesan and Capers with A Cacao-Balsamic Dressing

for my “creative” entree I decided on a Mock Loaf with a Raw Mushroom Gravy…

PICTURES TO COME!!!!! Things may change a bit once I get into the kitchen, but that’s when the fun & gratification really begins!

Stay tuned.

Reporting in from InSpiral Lounge- London, England

I’m writing this review as I sit in this lively raw organic vegetarian restaurant (and Vegan) in Camden Town, London. I’m sitting at a small wooden table with uneven chairs, by the glowing Himalayan sea salt figure light source, while the energetic African music smiles in my ears.

I just finished eating a raw nut burger, what they call their “Sunfood Burger”. It was a little dry, but overall very tasty and I basically swallowed it whole.With every dish you purchase, you get 3 sides included, so I chose 3 raw salads with bright, vibrant colors and distinct familiar tastes. It’s been 3 days since I’ve had this food I love so dearly, so I practically licked the plate.

My husband and I drove back to London today from Belgium in order for me to work for this restaurant, InSprial. This is our “honeymoon”, or at least our version of it. It’s not that we aren’t enjoying each other, or totally infatuated with each other: it’s just that we love our jobs that much. We are in Europe and by day we walk around on the bustling streets and go have European cappuccinos (mine with soy obviously) and for a few hours each day we bring our computers and tap into our clients, blog readers and the jobs we love so dearly.

Which brings me to this moment:

At first I thought it was oxymoronic to say “healthy food in London” BOY WAS I WRONG!

I emailed InSprial before leaving for England, after finding them on the internet, explaining I was coming to London for two weeks and would love to do a workshop for them on raw food or help in the kitchen. A week later, I received an enthusiastic reply, indicating they would put me in touch with their head chef. A few days later Enzo, their vegetarian cook, wrote asking if I could help the restaurant recreate their raw menu for the New Year. I obviously said Yes… with zero attempt at hiding my zealous vigor.

I met with Enzo last week and we discussed his ideas and what he needs from me. In the quickest hour of my life, I told him what I thought of the dishes they already have, he told me what he thought, and within 60 minutes we had a plan. He needed 7 new raw salads with superfoods in the dressings or in the salad & 2 new entree’s-one raw sushi dish and one random dish using my incredible imagination

We decided on my hours for this week (so that Adi and I could go to Paris and Belgium for a few days) and voila! Here we are! I showed him all my work–the 7 new recipes and 2 entrees–and he loved all of them.

Here’s a sneak preview on my ideas:

• Sprouted Mung Bean Salad with Sesame Seeds and a Raw Tahini Lime Dressing

• Edible Flower Mixed Greens Salad with Fresh Raspberries, Agave Soaked Goji Berries and a Creamy Lemon-Maca Dressing

• Raw Caesar Salad with Baby Jam Lettuce, Raw Parmesan and Capers with A Cacao-Balsamic Dressing

for my “creative” entree I decided on a Mock Loaf with a Raw Mushroom Gravy…

PICTURES TO COME!!!!! Things may change a bit once I get into the kitchen, but that’s when the fun & gratification really begins!

Stay tuned.

Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a recent study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

First of all, what is “mindful eating”?

The Center For Mindful Eating says that mindful eating has several components, including:

*learning to make choices in beginning or ending a meal based on awareness of hunger and satiety cues;

*learning to identify personal triggers for mindless eating, such as emotions, social pressures, or certain foods;

*valuing quality over quantity of what you’re eating;

*appreciating the sensual, as well as the nourishing, capacity of food;

*feeling deep gratitude that may come from appreciating and experiencing food

The study, which was a follow-up on an earlier study that revealed middle-age gained less weight when practicing yoga over a 10-year period than those who did not, confirms that the increased awareness that yoga practitioners often experience may play a bigger role in weight management than the yoga asanas themselves.

“The researchers found that people who ate mindfully – those were aware of why they ate and stopped eating when full – weighed less than those who ate mindlessly, who ate when not hungry or in response to anxiety or depression,” states a press release from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center released August 3. “The researchers also found a strong association between yoga practice and mindful eating but found no association between other types of physical activity, such as walking or running, and mindful eating.” Click here to read the whole report.

Yoga helps people be more aware of their actions, which helps them better gauge how much food they need and control weight. That sounds about right to me. Anyone else?

Reporting in from Maya Tulum, Mexico

As Baron Baptiste, the great yoga teacher and guide would say, life is about two things: expanding and contracting. We are either opening up, or closing down. We are becoming larger, growing, evolving, transforming. Or, we are becoming smaller, hiding, lessening ourselves.

The key to living your life in a truthful, open, expansive way is to live authentically.
What do I mean when I say authentic? In existential terms, authenticity is relating to an emotionally significant, purposive, and responsible mode of human living. But how does one live an authentic life? This quote always seems to do the trick for me:

“Be as you are, not as you should be.”

There are no “shoulds” in life.  There is no universal right or wrong for how you should be, except to do your very best in every possible situation. You don’t need to be a certain color or flavor or change a single thing, unless you want to. Unless it’s a part of your own growth and expansion. Authenticity is genuine. It doesn’t require force, and in fact, if you attempt to force it, you will fail. Forcing anything just makes it more difficult on you and anyone or anything else involved. Try to drop your expectations of others and eventually you will drop your expectations of yourself: with the “shoulds” right along with it.

Another really wonderful part about being authentic in your life is that you give others permission to be their most true self as well. You open the door to expansion in the most powerful way. So not only are you improving your own well-being and truth, you allow others to do the same.

Don’t expect this to happen over night, because it probably won’t. Begin taking steps towards this way of living. Be patient and compassionate with yourself, this is a lifelong process that will actually get easier with time. Take off your mask, letting it reveal the true you. I find being in nature and/or on the yoga mat is a great way to start this process.

Try and drop your judgments of others, again, to attempt to drop the judgments of yourself. Open your heart to accepting that: You are perfect exactly as you are.