JANUARY Newsletter 2024

RENEWAL…

Hello Everyone,

We hope this finds you and your loved ones healthy and refreshed during this New Year. How has it been going so far? Have you been able to renew, restart, or recommit to practices that serve you? Have you been patient with yourself or has self judgement been amped up? What’s been working? What are you proud of? What have you been able to let go of?

It’s important to pause and ask these questions so that we don’t plow through the year with our usual habits and judgements pulling us back and keeping us in the same place. If we can look at how far we’ve come, what’s working, what’s not working, and then re-assess and re-commit, this in itself becomes a valuable practice.

Personally, I’ve been busier this January than I have in the past 3 years and while my meditation and yoga practices are consistent and necessary, my closets are not as organized as I’d like and I rarely take time to go for a run. Rather than beating myself up about this I’m thinking about how or if I want to add these things to my load.

Things that are working for me this New Year: farmers market veggies, daily smoothies with Truvani protein powder, really taking my daily supplements, wake up and meditate, hot yoga at Humming Puppy and Modo Yoga, Ryze Mushroom coffee, walking everywhere no matter the weather, reading rather than screens.

New things that I am loving: the mini trampoline I bought my kids and now jump on daily (great for circulation, bone density, balance, cardiovascular health, releases endorphins, and is FUN). I also bought a karaoke machine for my kids and LOVE IT. Who knew? My family is kind of shocked both by how into it I am and also how tone def I am. It’s inspired me to take singing lessons which I start in Feb and will obviously keep you posted on!

Whatever you are committed to, I hope it is often going well. I hope you are surrounded by people who inspire you. We hope that we inspire you to keep tuning into yourself, to foster self care, and to embrace self love.

With Love,

Andrea (and Christina)

INVERSIONS…

This month we’ve been focusing on inversions and while it’s been challenging it’s also been a lot of fun. I realized I had settled into a mindset of “oh I don’t do those any more” and “what’s the point?” and “that’s a young person’s passion”. Yet after my initial eye rolling I embraced the task at hand and found a connection to my inner 6 year old. I remember how I used to throw myself around with wild abandon all joyful, wild and free. I see myself in my kids as they do the same. I decided to lean into the practices of inversions and arm balances. While wild abandon is no longer possible in my older body, I have enjoyed embracing the clear, safe, accessible system that exists for every posture.

Practicing inversions comes down to five main principles, each working together to create a safe and stable foundation from which to fly:

1) Mindset: Our beliefs and stories dictate how we show up in the world. If I had stuck with “I don’t do those any more”, I would have missed all the moments that I have felt empowered and full of joy and vitality as a result of practicing inversions this month.

2) Stack: Inversions and arm balances are not about sheer strength and muscles…it’s really about physics: once you find your center of gravity and stack your bones correctly, you can fly quite beautifully no matter what age, size, strength or flexibility.

3) Trust: Inversions are about taking yourself to your edge…to the point that is uncomfortable, where you’re sure you will fall…and going there anyways over and over. A pillow is very helpful in this situation as well as remembering your inner child tuck and roll ability. You’ll quickly find that this is actually the joyful part, not the scary part, and it is the only way to get through your fear.

4) Effective Warm Up: Inversion practices have specific warm up poses and exercises that get your body and mind ready to fly. The whole practice is beneficial whether or not you actually balance or invert.

5) Gaze: Your drishti (gaze) is specific and important so always remember to think about where you need to be looking during your pose.

Overall HAVE FUN, embrace inversions and arm balances and when you do, notice which beliefs and stories shift for you. Tell us how it is going…we always love to hear from you!

RECIPE…

I love this simple winter recipe that I found on Love and Lemons. It warms me up every time. I make extra for a second meal…I simply re-assemble and pop in the over for 10 mins to reheat.

ACORN SQUASH WITH CHICKPEAS & CHIMICHURRI

Serves: 4 as a main, 8 as a side

Ingredients

2 acorn squash, seeded and cut into quarters

Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chimichurri (makes extra)

½ cup Pepitas Roasted with Salt, more for garnish

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 small garlic clove, minced

½ cup finely chopped cilantro, more for garnish

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

⅓ cup Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

¼ teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup

Freshly ground black pepper

Chickpeas

2 teaspoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

½ cup chopped yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon Ground Cumin

Pinch of Ground Cinnamon

1 (14-ounce) can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

⅓ cup Organic Vegetable Broth

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon Yogurt (optional…I use Tahini)

½ cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper. Roast, cut side up, 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender and browned around the edges.

2. Make the chimichurri: Place the pepitas in a food processor and process until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in the red pepper flakes, garlic, cilantro, and freshly ground pepper. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and maple syrup and stir until combined. Set aside.

3. Prepare the chickpeas: Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, a pinch of salt, and cook until soft, 5 to 8 minutes, until browned, turning down the heat as needed. Turn the heat to low and add the garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and chickpeas. Stir to coat, then add the broth, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pinches of pepper and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set aside, the mixture will thicken. Stir in the cilantro just before assembling the dish.

4. Make the lemon yogurt: In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.

5. On a platter, assemble the squash quarters and top with the chickpeas and the chimichurri. Garnish with cilantro and pepitas and top with the lemon yogurt.

Notes: if you use raw pepitas, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon sea salt to the chimichurri.