The American diet should be served with a shovel, and not one crusted with soil, but rather one coated with sugar, fat and salt- the trifecta of the human psyche - as we shovel it in without thinking. We are biologically hardwired to desire these three elements. We crave it because it used to be scarce, now we can't turn a grocery isle without being bombarded by it. I'll leave the science and higher level thinking to Michael Pollan and I'll stick to eating and getting sweaty. See Mom, my anthropology degree comes in handy sometimes.
As I lay on my mat, one hand on my abdominal aortic pulse and the other rising and falling on my chest, I started thinking of the role of yoga in my fuel decision making process. I likened yoga, running and cycling to siblings: yoga is the oldest sibling, the wise trailblazer that teaches you to read and diagnose medical conditions at the age of six. The more knowledge you digest, the more you realize you don't know and there is so much out there to learn! Yoga for me is simply perception, our perception of reality, consciousness, and being attune to that inner voice (not the kind I'm learning about in my psych rotation). I'm getting somewhere, I promise. When our perception is skewed by pain or suffering, we have to base our perception on feelings. Some of the most powerful forces, like wind, can only be felt, so don't underestimate your own feelings. That gut feeling is always right. Yoga, the union of mind and body.
Back to food, we know what feels good in our bodies versus what simply feels good on our tongue. Training the tongue to match what feels good in our bodies was either hammered into you at a young age (sign in my mom's kitchen reads: Dinner Options 1. take it 2. leave it ) or is a process of relearning. We need that heightened sense of awareness to figure out what works for our bodies. This could not be more apparent than when we put our body through the ringer. What if it doesn't feel good? Yep, it's coming out, quickly, either against gravity or flowing right with it. So listen to your elders and your gut, they know more than you do. In my case, I cannot wait to get old. The best athletes I encounter are often at least ten years older.
The last bit of this stream of consciousness goes back to the other two siblings. I'm the baby of four - and all 10 lbs 2.5 oz of me were a surprise. Being the baby, I constantly feel the need to catch up, and will be a perpetual newbie. That being said, I am always approaching the middle sibling (running) and youngest sibling (cycling) from the point of a newbie and wanting to learn everything. I'm already aware that I will never know everything my oldest sibling does, I will never know yoga, I am a lifetime student of the practice.
Listen to your body, it's your sensei and let your mind forever be a grasshopper.
The following recipe has been my favorite since I bought a new juicer a few weeks ago...
I was always skeptical about juicing, all of the calories without the fiber, but with the inclusion of a ton of veggies and greens I have seen the light and changed my ways. And simply put, juice just feels good, especially after a long hot run, or sweaty yoga class.
- large bunch of kale (2-3 whole stems)
- 2 medium beets
- 1 granny smith apple
- 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger
- 1/2 - 1 cup pineapple
- two whole carrots
- one peeled orange or other favorite citrus
** makes two servings.
What does one do with all the leftover delicious cellulose? Mix it in soups, veggie patties, scrambled eggs...endless possibilities!
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