Hitting the road, or Path, or Whichever.

As I sit here, the bed still has the blankies on it and my teddy, who will soon double as airplane neck pillow, stares at me with anxiety in his beady plastic eyes.

"You're really going to smash me on top of your laptop again and subject my delicate plush to the public humiliation of falling into the aisle in coach to be stepped on by sneakered men in turbans? Sleepless nights in the apartment over the alley where the rick-shaw drivers hawk diesel-black mucous in the night? The mildew, the dust. Really?"

But I project. He's actually a tough bear who came back last year with a permanent dent in his facial stuffing. Tough cookie, face shifted into a perpetual sneer. Myself, I have a scar of some sort from every trip. The place where I had that boil, sun damage, motorbike accident, etc. I watched myself age just a teensy bit faster. In so many ways.

It's me who is thinking- really? Anyone will tell you it's a love hate relationship with India. This is my 9th trip, and I pretty much get the cycles now. First month, feet don't touch the ground. Second month in love with everything and plotting to never return. Third month hungry, bloated, sore, a little bit...dirty. Fourth month, maybe a little bit crazy.

You know I used to be dirty on purpose. That first trip where I couldn't even believe I was an American (how could I know this if I had never left America before?). Staying and eating in the cheapest spots at the risk of certain safeties. Some karma. It's what happened to my gut on that trip which brought me to Ayurveda, which has created a worldview and a professional avenue for me to understand and connect with all these packets of light we call human beings.

That being said, all my friends, I am procrastinating. I posted the blog on FB and thought I better say hello. The next 2 weeks, Im on and off the temple bus on a rollicking tour of the south. Between teaching, wrapping saris, and herding cats, you probably won't hear from me until I settle into the Ayurvedic village of Vaidyagram. I am a student there, and media is minimized. But I will do my best to provide a picture of what is happening there.

Camera pans apt behind me: open boxes, blender, blankets, suitcase, TSA bottles. I've got a lot to do today. Thank you for reading, which encourages me to reflect while I could be packing. As my friend put it, I'm "going groundless". It's been my pattern for a long time to pack it all up and notice attachments of all kinds. My heart-attachments to my Boston community are of the welcome kind. Catch you later. OM.

Holiday Digestive Tips

Be sure to keep your eating to mealtimes. Rather than nibbling at treats all day, take a space of 4-6 hours before eating again. Have what you want all at once, the earlier in the day, the better. Trust me, you will feel the difference in your over-all digestion if you take nice breaks throughout the festivities. 

Sip warm water throughout the day to aid digestion. 

For acid stomach, drink licorice or mint tea.  For bloating and gas, drink ginger tea.  You can have a strong cup of ginger tea 30 minutes before meals to fire up the Agni (digestive fire).

Take walks after meals.  Snow or shine!

Ayurvedic Apple Madness!

Baked Apple Oatmeal! 

Courtesy of my favorite NYC food-blogger Laura Olson.

If you’re like me and head out the door for practice early, then have to break-fast on the run, you’ll love these sweet little baked oatmeal “cakes”. Makes 2 muffin sized cakes, 2 very dainty breakfasts or one hearty one! 

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup oats 
1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
1/2 tsp cinnamon—or more, I like a lot! 
(or ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice, or use Kate’s Sweet Spice blend) 
1 -2 T Maple Syrup or Agave (about 1 ½ is where I land) 
3 T unsweetened applesauce 
1-2 T grated apple 
1/4 cup almond milk, coco creamer or your choice of liquid (water works too) 
heaping 1/16th tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Combine raw oats, spices, applesauce, apple, and liquid.  Pour into a mini loaf pan or 1-cup ramekin (or, for the daintier among us, two ½ cup ramekins or muffin cups).  Cook for 15-20 minutes, or more until it’s firm.  Set your oven to broil and crisp the tops (optional) 2-3 minutes.  Top with nut butter, cashew cream, a drizzle of maple syrup and more spice, more warm cooked apples (like Kate’s “jam”) or even split in half and fill with any of these options for an oatmeal sandwich. Mmmm, how about coconut butter?

Sweet Spice Mix 

A must for cool mornings.  This one works great anywhere you want sweet taste and creates a warming digestive aid. Use generously. I usually grind my own spices, but these 3 don’t grind up easy, so I buy them powdered and mix them in a glass shakey jar from Bed Bath and Beyond (99 cents). 

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon 

2 Tbsp ground ginger 

1 Tbsp ground cardamom 

Simmered Apples 

2 Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 

4 dates, cut in half 

2 c water 

1 Tbsp maple syrup (optional) 

1 Tbsp grated, fresh ginger root 

a big shake of sweet spice mix 

Boil it all over high heat, then simmer on med-low for 5 minutes. Blend about 1/3 of the mixture until smooth, stir back in with the chunks and serve. A hand blender works here. Lazy? Sure, fine, don’t blend it just eat it. 

Kaphas sub raisins for dates, omit maple. 

Baked Apples 

4 Large apples, cored. A softer variety like local Cortland works well. 

1 / 4 dried cranberries 

1/ 2 cup raisins

4 dried figs, finely chopped 

2 dried apricots or dates, finely chopped 

1tsp ginger powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, 16 whole cloves 

1 cup apple juice or cider 

Oven at 350. Mix all the stuffing and let it soak while you… Core apples without piercing skin on bottom. Stuff it in, letting some sit on top of apples. Pour remaining over apples. Pierce each apple with 4 cloves. Bake 25 minutes or until tender.  Top with raw honey if needed. This will make your house smell like a holiday, and makes a festive offering without flour or sugar. 

Ghee Bomb Apples 

The easiest recipe yet: 

Stir-fry one apple in a tsp ghee, add a Tbsp or 2 of water if it sticks. Top with sweet spice mix. A light, warm breakfast. Note: this works great with peaches too.

Yoga for Fall

Yoga is a practical path to a peaceful way of being, a deeper understanding of Self and world, and a daily reminder of the sacred nature of existence. 

To balance the dry, mobile, cold, rough qualities of those windy fall days, a yoga practice should encourage good circulation and gently warm the body, without taxing the joints or causing tension.  A soothing pranayama like Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breath) is recommended at the change of seasons.  To learn a simple joint mobility sequence, and some subtle flows for circulating prana, check out an Ayurvedic Yoga class this fall.