Kombucha!

Finally the post of the finished product!  I was a little nervous tasting the first couple sips even though it tasted good I was hesitant to drink a large amount in case something went wrong- I mean that culture is a lot funky looking.

This first picture is the final batch of the magic potion! 

Benefits of  drinking Kombucha:

Detoxing the body- the drink  contains enzymes that help break down and flush toxins out of the body.

Joint Health- Kombucha contains glucosomines which helps prevent arthritis through maintaining cartilage structure.

Digestion- Kombucha's culture and yeast make it a pro biotic drink aiding the digestive system in breaking down and absorbing nutrients into the body.

Immunity- As an anti-oxidant rich beverage, Kombucha helps boost your immune system and increases your energy.

 

The Mayo Clinic site, which I deem as a pretty reputable source when googling some ailment (way more than Web MD which always convinces me I am dying), states that there is no scientific research supporting the benefits of Kombucha and that until further  information is available it is advisable to stay away from the drink-- but let's be honest, I really enjoy it and plan on continuing to drink it. The lack of studies may be attributed to the fact that it is not going to benefit any drug companies to fund the research for a product that is cheaply produced and sold. Pre-cold war, Russia and Germany conducted studies on the benefits of this drink and more recent studies have began to take place and be released in the US.

  This is the culture that grew on top of the Kombucha! I removed it and the mother culture was still on the bottom- not sure if this was normal but I haven't had any negative side affects from the bottles I've drank.

 If handling the culture make sure you have a clean towel and extremely clean hands while managing the culture- don't leave it out of liquid for too too long.

 I probably should have prepped bottles more ahead of time, but working with what I had in the kitchen I bottled them up and popped them in the fridge. I rotate filling the smaller two and bringing them with me.

I saved the culture to make a new batch but I hadn't realized the liquid all evaporated and now the culture is no good so I will most likely be ordering a new kit. Seriously for about $14 I got about 10 bottles of Kombucha out of it-at least. I am now saving more bottles so that I can just grab and go rather than funnel and fill!

Love Kombucha? Give home brewing a try- it was super easy and way more economical.

Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for

1. Netflix- After a lot of reading and critical thinking and planning throughout the week sometimes there is nothing like a great marathon- this week it was season two of Scandal, I just couldn't stop and was thankful the next one was readily available.
2. Microfiber cloths- instead of constantly replacing swiffer duster pads or floor dusters I just use the wand and replace it with a microfiber cloth then wash it. They pick up so much.
3. Q-tips- handy little suckers! I love using them to clean little crevices and remove nail polish I get all over my finger tips 
4. Sensational Bites- it is a great little bakery just down the street from me and it has become my Wednesday morning ritual. They always have a great vegan c.c. cookie and spotlight other vegan treats- currently it is a delicious pumpkin, c.c. cupcake with a brown sugar icing on top. They also have the best iced coffee and hot coffee I have found in the city, I am proud and sad to say that they know my order when I walk in.
5. Dyson Vacuum and Help- the Dyson website is one of the most user friendly websites I have ever used and they can totally make you feel like the handiest person in town. It was super easy to follow various steps to clean the vaccum.




Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for by cloch1 featuring Dyson

Dyson / AmazonBasics Microfiber Cleaning Cloth, (Pack of 24) Amazon.com

Pose of the week: Sphinx Pose

This is one of my favorite poses- it always makes its way into my sequences because it can feel so dang good.

Benefits:

• energizes abdominal organs
• fights fatigue
• stretches and strengthens the spine
• stretches / opens chest abdominals
• stretches shoulders
• reduces anxiety

Coming into the pose:

• lie on your stomach, ankles together, top of feet and toes press into the floor, root down through pubic bone
• prop your self up by bringing your forearms to the floor, shoulder distant apart and parallel to one another, the elbows should be bent 90' and should line up under the shoulders.
• once in the pose make sure you keep pressing into your forearms and hands to avoid collapsing into the pose
• open the chest by pulling / drawing (without actually moving) your forearms and hands back as your chest  reaches forward.

Making it feel real juicy:

• keeping the form from above drop your left ear towards your right shoulder then repeat on the opposite side eventually making half circles moving your ears from one shoulder, chin down towards the chest, finishing with the ear to shoulder on the opposite side. 

 Prep and Counterposes:
Sphinx pose is a baby cobra (bhujangasana) variation, because it is not a deep back bend a round of cat/cow is a great prep for this pose. Sphinx can then be modified into full cobra. A gentle forward fold or twist feels great after sphinx.
Pic: www.wondermondo.com

Going Green: Interior Decorating

I love the feeling of this room from an old Architectural Digest magazine and wanted to try to make an eco-friendly version of the room 

West Elm woven rug- is made from recycled fabric, West Elm has an entire recycled/green line

Cisco Brothers Chair- the entire company is based on sustainability, they have an awesome collection of chairs with character. There is a patchwork one that I would love to have in my house (it will surely appear on the blog soon).  

Cisco Brothers Fabric- the sustainable company also sells material, the one above would be great to reupholster  chair or for window treatments.

Benjamin Moore Natura- you can order the VOC free paint in any of the company's colors.

Dorothy Draper Dresser- there are a number of these for resale on ebay and other auction sites or you can re-purpose an old dresser by checking out this DIY on how to do your own Ikea Hack 

  

Art, Vases, and Old Books- these little details really add to the room, all of which are great items to find at flea markets, thrift stores, and garage sales. Find colors you like, pieces that speak to you, or buy it while you are on vacation as a souvenir that isn't something you would be embarrassed to display but will remind you of your trip.

Bronze ceiling light - sold on Etsy it is hand made from recycled materials

Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for

 1. Spotify- I love, and am thankful, that they allow you to make great playlists from their enormous music library, I think my yoga students are grateful too because if not they would be listening to my tiny, weird, outdated iTunes library.
2.Spaghetti Squash- I have an enormous fear of doing massive damage to one of my hands while preparing the SS, but it makes such a great pasta re-placer for nights I am longing for the warm comfort food.
3. My students- This week seemed to be the week they finally came out of their shells in my afternoon class, I recieved some bad news in the middle of class but they totally made me forget about it and had me laughing via their self descriptions with limited Spanish. Some included- my hands are long, my arms are long, my nose is long
4. Rain Boots- Earlier this week it was pouring cats and dogs, I despise wet pants and my knee high hunters and a good long trench coat keep me dry and happy. I happily walk or skip through the puddles.
5. The Skimm- If you haven't checked out this company you definitely should. It is a daily email update of the world's news in about five paragraphs. It is written in an easy to understand, fun to read, kinda like gossip about Syria and the possible government shutdown with an old girlfriend over coffee. They keep me up to date on world happenings where ever I am  and I can read it on the bus ride in the morning.



Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for by cloch1 featuring Hunter shoes

Hunter shoes, $145

Pose of the week: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

 

The bridge above is one of my favorite bridges in the world! It was originally built by Newton-- he built it without any screws, nuts, or bolts. Many years later people wanted to know how he did it, so they took the bridge down hoping to figure it out, but they didn't and they had to rebuild the bridge using screws.

ANYHOW

My second favorite bridge is setu bandha sarvangasana and every time I type or say this pose I hear it in an Indian accent thanks to my friends at YTT.

It is one of those amazing poses that offers so many  benefits:

• reduces anxiety and helps to calm the mind
• tones thighs
• stretches chest neck and spine
• rejuvenates tired legs
• energizing
• stimulates abdominal organs
• helps relieve womanly physical woes
• helps with depression   
• fights headaches
• reduces insomnia
• therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, and sinus issues
• helps fight osteoperosis

Okay, I think that hits the major benefits.

Getting into and coming out of the pose:

• lie on your back with your arms extended along your side
• bend your knees placing your feet so that your heels graze your finger tips
• walk your shoulder blades towards one another
• pressing into your feet begin to peel your hps and back off the floor
• continue to draw thighs towards one another and keep your knees over your ankles
• you can continue to walk your shoulders in and clasp hands  under your sacrum
• keep some space between your chin and chest

• to come out slowly walk your shoulders back out from underneath
• lower your hips down vertebra at a time

Modification:

• lift one leg at a time, extend the leg parallel to the floor, hold for a few rounds of breath and then switch legs
• place a block between the thighs to make sure your knees are tracking in the right direction or to activate the legs more
• place a block under your sacrum for a supported bridge (LOVE THIS OPTION)

Preparatory Poses:

• mild back bends like cobra
• up dog 

Counter Poses:

• gentle reclined twist
• apanasana (legs to chest) 
• gentle forward folds like paschimottasana

Picture sources:http://www.pbase.com/czsz/image/30426145, http://sr.photos1.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP990/k9545380.jpg 

My study break shopping trip to Click: Nature Inspired / Nature Friendly

It is just too nice out to sit inside and read unclassified CIA documents or classic Spanish lit, so I made a homemade pumpkin coffee, grabbed my bike, and headed down the street with the intention of buying a broom (we only have a little hand one-- it is not cutting it) and a wall calendar.

I came home with neither, but I did score a great pair of flats at Click Shoes on Southport for 50% off. They are having a fall sale. Lauren, the buyer for the store, is amazing and does a great job filling the store with amazing pieces like the Matisse booties and the Bella Dahl tunic above. I wanted to integrate these pieces with some of the Eco-friendly finds from earlier this week.

Both the pieces from click have their own pro's:
  
Matisse boots, according to Lauren, last forever and hold up really well. Investing in quality pieces that do not need to be replaced is an environmentally friendly way to shop since in a year or six months from now you won't be tossing them out and replacing them.

The Bella Dahl tunic is made in the USA, and although I couldn't find any information on the cotton they use it's always great to support companies that make their products here.

Inspired by my study break shopping trip to Click: Nature Inspired / Nature Friendly by cloch1 featuring matisse shoes

Avant garde dress / Topshop black pants / Matisse shoes / Melissa Joy Manning diamond earrings / Brown glasses / Clare Vivier - Madeleine Petit

Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for this week

1. Elastic hair ties- These don't leave a crease in hair, which is great when I have to pull up my freshly dried hair because of the Chicago wind.
2. Iced Coffee- the taste, the ritual, the smell. It comforts me and helps me make it through long days and long articles.
3. Skype- Last night I was able to Skype a yoga class to a dear friend in Baton Rouge!
4. Pretty Paper Clips- make me smile while getting work done.
5. Epsom salts infused with lavender oil- I tend to make my own,  and these feel so great in a hot bath after a long, windy bike ride. 
Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for this week by cloch1 featuring stretchy headbands

Stretchy headband / Beauty product / Luigi Bormioli Glassware, Set of 2 Duos Coffee Mugs

New York Fashion Week: Crazy Beautiful World- keep it that way with eco-friendly fashion

Dress / STELLA McCARTNEY synthetic shoes / STELLA McCARTNEY handbag / STELLA McCARTNEY faux snakeskin handbag / Clare Vivier real leather handbag, $215 / Melissa Joy Manning clear stud earrings / STELLA McCARTNEY sunglasses / La Tropezienne 5"

Inspired by MBFW I want to do a post dedicated to designers that practice Eco-friendly and sustainable production. Not all earth friendly clothing is hippie-wear, you can find high end designer pieces. The fashion industry, for the most part, is not sustainable as is but a lot of companies are working to change that.

 Major clothing companies such as Zara and H&M are designing eco-conscious lines at an affordable price; BUT if I could splurge here are the designers I would shop:

       Clare Vivier- she does beautiful leather bags that use eco-friendly materials in the preparation and production of the bags.

       Honest by- they have amazing everything, on their website you can select various criteria                     for the products. i.e. - vegan, eco-friendly production, etc.

       Melissa Joy Manning- creates beautiful jewelry with gemstones and practices sustainable production as well.

       Shop Ethica- is one of my favorite shops I found while researching this blog. Great bags, clothes, and accessories; the colors and patterns used by the company are super fun.

      Coclico- beautiful shoes and boots made with sustainability in mind.


Link to information about second set of pictures

Pose of the week: restorative fish

School is back in full swing and for hours a day I am typing or hunched over a book. To counter the long days of poor posture, a supported or restorative fish pose feels amazing.

      Supta matsyasana

                               

Benefits:

- relaxes the nervous system

- helps relieve grief

-opens chest, spine, shoulders, and throat/ neck

Props and modifications:

- bolster or blanket rolled up and placed like picture

- can place the bolster long ways under the spine, the base will line up with your sacrum

- use a block and place it at the most comfortable height and line it up parallel with the bra line, for men, what would be your bro line.

-my favorite is to like the block up perpendicular to the  bra line with the corners of the other end resting  in the two little nooks that are on both sides of the knob that is at the base of the skull. It's like a mini massage.

- either rest in the pose or snow angel your arms for shoulder / upper back massage.

- feel free to use two blacks, one for the bra line the other for the head, or a combination of bolster/blocks

Coming into the pose:

 Take a seat on a mat or softer surface, set up your props ( it will probably take a few try's until you find the sweet spot with blocks), slowly lower yourself onto the props making any necessary adjustments, Relax!!

When you feel opened and refreshed slowly roll off the props coming to the fetal position on one side.out 

This is a great way to start or end class, or even to lay like this at home when you need a little relaxation.

                                             

Then feel free to totally accessorize or pimp your fish out

                                              

Photo3 midlifeexpress.com

Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for

1.  Gaia Adrenal Health: A friend introduced me to this herbal supplement last semester when the going got tough. The adrenal glands are involved in the release of stress hormones (cortisol), adrenal health helps the body regulate the release of these hormones.

2. Whole Foods Trail Mix Bar: I feel like a lot of trail mixes are either missing one key ingredient or have chocolate chips in it, I love the create your own at WF because I can make up fun combinations. My newest one was called Asian Invasion Kick in Yo Mouth. It had wasabi peas, seseme sticks, coconut, dried cherries, and tamari coated seeds. The lesson I learned is that shredded coconut is not ideal for trail mix it falls everywhere and is the only thing left in the bag at the end. Coconut flakes would be more ideal.

3. Dry Shampoo: This past week the door to our apt. ate part of my finger making using my right hand difficult. Washing my hair has been a pain and I have really appreciated my dry shampoo.

4. Bath Tub: What a better way to unwind, I am grateful for my white tub but would be super grateful if my tub looked like the one above, it's like a tub hammock.

5. Library: I am thankful that Chicago and Loyola have a great library and I can save oodles of money on school books as well as can read up on sustainability and design for free.










Friday Five: five little things I am grateful for by cloch1 featuring a dry shampoo

Klorane dry shampoo

Recycling furniture

When we first moved to Chicago we had very little furniture and when we went to purchase new furniture we discovered we had very little money--- dressers are dang expensive. I went to the thrift stores around the city but they were all highly picked over and overpriced. I didn't have tons of time to rebuild an old dilapidated piece so off to the suburban thrift stores I went.

I love Arlington Retail!! They have great stuff at a reasonable price, I was able to get the piece below for about $100, and it is a quality heavy piece. I look for real wood, fun details, and dove tailed drawers (my dad always said it was a sign of a well built piece).

Benefits of redoing a dresser:

1. Save money
2. Completely personalize the piece to be exactly what you want
3. Give new life to an old piece 
4. It's green- new furniture requires the use of materials and resources, often times the more affordable furniture is not as consciously made.
5. Quality pieces for less than a new lower quality piece

I knew I wanted a calming, earthy and elegant look to our room. The old doors below were some of my inspiration in color combinations. The first door is an old Indian door that now is a part of the Galapagos Safari Camp where we stayed last summer.

This is a door at the Salvaged place next to the Green Project in New Orleans- I can never remember the name of that place.

Who doesn't love Anthropologie knobs? They were my splurge on this piece, I think they ended up being a total of  $112--they had the combination of gold and silver that I wanted.

The paint color is Soothing Spring from the Home Decorators Collection

The  original dresser had this seventies shiny varnish on it so I took out my electric sander, laid down lots of old towels and sanded the shine away. It took awhile and I had to be careful not to sand off any edges or too much, but just enough so that the shine was gone and there was a slight roughness to the dresser.

After sanding I wiped it down with damp rag and prepared the paint supplies.

It took a few hours to paint, I would leave an hour between coats.

Lastly I added the knobs-- We were really pleasedwith our finished dresser. I must give credit to my dad who sat and watched a football game one afternoon and sawed off the excess end of the screw of the knob that is inside the dresser. I need to get a hot glue gun or something to cover just the very tip of the knob, the end of the screw sometimes catches my clothes and has caused a tiny hole or two.

Pose of the Week: Gomukhasana

 

Cow Face Pose-- a deep juicy pose in place of a juicy burger this Labor Day

     This morning's bike ride and this weekend's trip to Stone House Farms inspired my pose choice this week--go mooo kasana! We went on a beautiful Labor Day bike ride this morning (along with hundreds of other people) on the Lakeshore trail and during long rides I really begin to feel it in my hips and quads. This pose is always super intense for me on the outside of my hips, maybe it's from cycling or maybe it is old junk all tied up in there (partially caused by the hundreds of people on the trail that dangerously swerve into you or run out in front of you).

Although deep and juicy, some variation of this pose is accessible to everyone via a prop or modification. No, you do not have to be rocking a thong like cartoon yogi above, but maybe while you sit uncomfortably in this pose and try to focus on your breath you will relax a little or laugh when you think of doing the pose in that thong.

Gomukasana is a deep hip and shoulder stretch and really requires me to relax into the pose and focus my mind on my breath.

To Prepare:  gentle hip and shoulder openers

• ardha matsyendrasana- half lord of the fish pose 
• Marichyasana C
• Parivrtta Janu Sirsanana- wide legged seated stradle, gentle twist and side stretch reaching for the toes of one foot while opening the chest to the ceiling.
• Poschimottanasana- seated forward fold
• Virasana- hero's pose
• Haddha Konasana- seated bound angle (think butterfly)
• Dandasana- staff pose (seated with legs extended in front of you, reach through your heels to activate the backs of your legs and sit up straight while engaging the core)
• Janu Sirsana- one leg seated forward fold. 
• Uttanasana- standing forward fold

Counter Pose:

• Upavista Konansana- wide legged seated forward fold
• Adho Mukha Scanasana- Downward facing Dog
• Baddha Konasana 

Props and Modifications:

• break the pose down and do either just the arms or just the legs to start off, both feel great on their own
• if the shoulders are not opening enough for you to hook your fingers together grab a strap and drape it over your shoulder, slowly grab onto the strap with both hands and as the shoulders open walk the hands towards one another on the strap
• to allow both sits bones to root down into the ground bring a bolster or block under your seat if they do not reach the earth on their own.
• an easy way to enter this pose is to come into table top, extend the right leg behind you, cross the right leg over the left and place the r knee on the other side of the left knee so that the legs are crossed, slowly begin to sit your hips back between your feet, walk the feet out as wide as feels good (the more open the hips the wider the feet will be) you want your knees stacked on top of each other.)

This pose and I have a love hate relationship:: it hurts so good. I know I need it because I can't stand it but after surrendering and relaxing into the pose for a good number of breaths it begins to become less irritating. 





And as my fellow yogi and teacher Ben informed me: No guy ever likes gomukasana because there is just to much stuff in the way--so feel free to try different ways of coming into this pose and adjust as necessary.