carrot juice

Rather than offering my yoga students energy drinks, bars or water after class, I'm really looking forward to stocking fresh carrot juice at my studio! I'd love to explain why I chose juice, why carrot juice and why it's such a great compliment to yoga practice.

Juicing, as opposed to blending, steaming or eating raw is one of the best ways to quickly and efficiently flood the body with liquid nutrients. Nutrients directly enter the bloodstream, creating an instant energy boost and powerful detox response.

Carrot juice in particular, has many benefits and has been a large part of my husband's healing protocol and nutritional balancing program. Regular consumption of carrot juice boosts the immune system, improves digestion, liver function & detox, balances skin problems, increases metabolism, supports healthy vision, discourages water retention, ulcers and anemia. (Source) It's also cheap compared to other juicing vegetables and is available year-round!

Though carrots have a high sugar content, they are a very good blood sugar regulator, which (for most people's high-sugar lifestyles) is a huge help. The juice is also rich with biotin, potassium, bioavailable calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, organic sodium and some trace minerals, pro-vitamin A, vitamins C, D, E, K, B1 and B6.

• Vitamin A: 340% of your daily recommended dose for healthy skin
• Potassium: 18% DV for proper fluid balance and muscle function
• Vitamin C: 3mg to pump up your immune system
• Vitamin E: 0.3mg for the synthesis of hormones and to maintain healthy cells
• B Vitamins: For your nervous system and brain function - Source

Since we work so hard during yoga to balance the nervous system and the body, detoxify with twists and work toward a balanced mind and body, carrot juice is a wonderful complement to top off your yoga practice and continue healthy detox off the mat.


If you've never had fresh juice or don't regularly drink it, here are some general tips:

1) Drink juice on an empty stomach at least 1 hour after eating or at least 15 minutes before a meal.

2) Do not chug the juice. Drinking any fresh juice too fast could cause an upset stomach or result in what we'll just refer to as a  powerful detox response.... :) You also need to give your body time to release the saliva that contains digestive enzymes, crucial in delivering the nutrients to your cells. 

3) As soon as your freshly made juice gets exposed to air, its live enzymes begin to degrade, therefore decreasing the nutritional content. All Wholehearter juices will be made fresh, but always be sure to drink your juice within a day of purchase.

Share your thoughts!

3 common issues with yoga

Attention one time yogis - read this and then try again! :)
Throughout the holiday season, I've been catching up with a lot of new and old friends at holiday parties and answering the usual, "what do you do?" and "how have you been?" questions. So often, the topic ends up with: yoga. I've come across a lot of people who have wanted to try yoga or have tried yoga and for one reason or another, didn't like it. (Gasp!) But I'm beginning to understand why and I'd like to help clear some things up to balance expectations about yoga with reality!

1.) The teacher didn't explain enough. One of the biggest gripes I hear from first-time or one-time-yogis is that the instructor didn't explain the poses enough or didn't tell them if they were doing the poses correctly. One of the biggest reminders I could offer for this expectation is that yoga is not a sport or an exercise class, so don't expect it to be taught like that.

Yoga is a meditative practice, so don't expect the teacher to narrate everything, tell you why you're doing each pose or explain the philosophy of yoga during class because THAT would drive you insane anyway. If you have questions afterward, ask, but usually, the teacher is explaining enough. Understand that there is no "right or wrong" to beginning yoga poses; it is a seriously personal practice and mental discipline, so as long as it feels good for you, don't read into it too much.

2.) The teacher kept adjusting me/didn't correct me at all! There are two very opposing "schools" of yoga, if you will: one that believes students should be physically adjusted often and the other that opposes the concept of any physical adjustment unless absolutely necessary. Both encourage verbal and self-adjustment, but the goal behind NOT touching students is to encourage them to tune into their own body, not be striving to fit any mold. Myself and many other teacher and students probably fall somewhere in between these two beliefs. I definitely do not see a benefit to adjusting students obsessively, as this can effect confidence, concentration and, in turn, progress, but I do believe that there are certain postures that can be gently adjusted to allow for deeper release or opening that cannot be achieved by a student's own volition. 

If your teacher approaches you to adjust you, stay calm and keep in mind that you're not doing anything wrong. He/she is just trying to help you feel something a little different. If you would like to be adjusted more often, understand why many teachers may not want to disrupt your practice in this way, but feel free to ask or seek another more "hands-on" teacher.

3.) The class was too hard/too boring. This is a big one, so please do your research before attending a class and try to keep things in perspective. If you've never taken a yoga class, make sure you're signing up for a beginner's class and take it easy. Sometimes, you may feel lost in community yoga classes or large classes, so either start with a few private lessons from a local studio or do your best and don't do anything that doesn't feel good. Yoga should never be painful and your teacher should (hopefully) offer modifications for various levels. If you're already in shape and find that the class was not enough for you, keep in mind that there are dozens of different types of yoga, taught at hundreds of different studios by thousands of different teachers.

Disclaimer: As with anything, nit-picking can squelch even the best yoga experience. If you didn't like the music that particular day, thought the paint choices were lame or would have chosen a different candle scent, do suck it up a bit. What are you here for? Mental and physical discipline or pedantics?

If you really had some sort of terrible yoga experience, I understand your hesitation, but trying one teacher or one place is not exactly giving it a fair chance. You ended up there in the first place seeking something...peace, relaxation, physical strength...etc. so don't give up so easily. Not everyone will resonate with the same style of yoga or the same teacher, but the mental and physical benefits are really worth finding one that will. It's hard to go into a new practice without any expectations at all, but if you keep an open mind, yoga will change you and you'll understand so much more about yourself and yoga. 

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, or B.K.S. Iyengar, is one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing/teaching for over 75 years. He sums up this idea well:

"Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one's being, from bodily health to self-realization. Yoga means union -- the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions." - B.K.S. Iyengar

Namaste!

Bryan Kest Power Yoga Master Class - Review

Welp. Last night, I finally got to attend the Bryan Kest Power Yoga Master Class at Amazing Yoga in Shadyside. It's very hard to put an experience like this into words, but I will do my best.

Bryan Kest Power Yoga

If you've never seen or heard Bryan Kest, he really has a presence about him. For some reason, he's always reminded me a bit of Adam Sandler. (I'm not sure if that's in looks, humor or accent, but either way, that might give you a base.) Famous for his blunt, casual style, Bryan isn't afraid to tell it like it is and his philosophy and thoughts about yoga are probably the most genuine and challenging ideas I've heard from a teacher. He was not there to lead us through physical postures. He was there to guide us on a journey of awareness and acknowledgement that asanas are a very small part of yoga practice.

"Can you think of how we're going to solve any problem on this planet with loose hamstrings?" - Bryan Kest

He went on to explain that "yogis didn't give a shit about looking good." It's true. Yoga was not developed to become an exercise fad. The only reason physical asanas were created was that so yogis could safely remain sedentary in their meditative states for longer periods of time. Each yoga posture is meant to gently stimulate certain areas of the body, but should only be approached and performed in a comfortable way.

"The objective of yoga is not to make you loose. It's to make you well. All these movements are creative ways to access and care for your whole body." - Bryan Kest

Just as we are mostly sedentary in our daily lives, so do we benefit from these postures stimulating various muscles, ligaments, joints, cartilage...etc. But this is all assuming that during the postures, we are achieving or working toward awareness of our bodies and mind. Yoga practice is meant to be a time that we spend breaking mental patterns and habits, not continuing them during practice. These could be patterns of anger, self-judgement, stress, competitiveness or distraction that we do not even know we have. We are all addicted to our own thoughts and breaking any addiction is not easy.

"We will experience withdrawal symptoms from our addiction to our own stupid thoughts. You give us peace in this culture, we get bored." - Bryan Kest

The goal of all yoga is truly the cessation of the incessant whirling of an uncontrolled mind. It's not blanking out all thought, it's not a creepy new age trend and it's not a religion. It's consciously practicing to become alert to what we're thinking, what we're doing and how we're acting. Bryan mentioned a Harvard study that a shocking 85% of the thoughts we think each day are the very same thoughts we had yesterday:

"85% of the stuff if your head is complete shit. And I didn't say that, Harvard did." - Bryan Kest

What an amazing wake-up call at how the mind can wander in circles without us even realizing it. He went on to explain that many yoga practitioners in our culture never really challenge this mental state. We sit quietly. We endure the quiet time, trying to keep our thoughts from wandering. But how many of us would have attended this class if it was a Bryan Kest meditation workshop? Many people only practice for the physical benefits. Though he coined the term "Power Yoga," he called it 'stupid.' He wanted it to mean that it was 'empowering' and 'powerful,' but the term has been warped to mean something totally different that we cannot even define.

As for the physical aspect of Bryan's class, he warned us repeatedly that it would be the longest class of our lives, that we would be glad he talked so long, that it might feel hypocritical to everything he just talked about, but at the same time, reminded us that doing any pose that doesn't feel good is pointless.

"Proper form does not keep you safe. Gentleness keeps you safe." -Bryan Kest

Bryan did not want his class to look like "a bunch of programmed robots." He encouraged everyone to truly drop their ego and have the humility to modify each and every pose as necessary. The class was extremely challenging, both physically and mentally. We were packed like sardines and toward the end of class, even breathing the hot, sticky air felt like a real challenge. But technically, anyone could have done that class. Based on what he said, choosing to be aware of my body's warnings, I was not at all ashamed to modify. It felt good to move how I wanted, in and out of poses when I needed to and choosing whatever form or modifications I needed. He encouraged us to never take your eyes away from your own mat. With all that on my mind, I felt exhausted, but great when class was over. I was not sore because I was careful and gentle with my body. I wasn't there to throw myself through a series of poses. I was there to learn to control myself, my mind and my tendencies and it truly felt like the most powerful class I've ever experienced.

If you ever get a chance to see or meet Bryan Kest, I can't recommend it enough. His class was a freeing experience from what might be considered as "yoga bravado" present in many studios.

  "I don't give a shit if you do yoga or not." - Bryan Kest