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Flow with it...yoga and stretching of the mind.

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:10:04 +0100

Ah, yoga. The union of the conscious mind and the physical body, the opening of energy pathways, awakening of sensation from within in times where we expect stimulation from something other than our self. Often we are so focused on what is happening around us we aren't sensitive to, or often just don't appreciate, what we feel. We aren't lost in the moment, our wounds are our prized possessions, our motivations an ultimatum.

Via a series of serendipitous events I found myself at Rusty Wells' UrbanFlow studio last night - a free weeknight that felt like a holiday. One-hundred plus souls in a room exploring variation and open to sensation. Although I haven't been to a yoga class in years and have never been regularly, it seemed a natural extension of the functional flexibility I pursue personally and professionally. More ready for that session than I had expected, I became one with the throng of bodies percolating and perambulating into the studio; athletic bodies used to being manipulated consciously...muscular, sinuous. Chanting our own welcomes swept me away from quotidian thoughts, and the controlling mind withdrew. I found myself smiling in recognition of the fact that I was lost in the moment. This is now, and this is awesome - I feel, and I feel myself feeling. Time and space had disappeared.

Indeed, our bodies, minds and souls are capable of tremendous feats. Socio-cultural evolution has eliminated the necessity of exploration with this ubiquitous and powerful trifecta, but as the world turns and we pass through time and space, the conscious aspect of human thought returns us to our primal instincts: to eat, move and be healthy. I shed tears years ago in a yoga class only months after knee surgery - for a moment the contiguous amalgamation of what I considered myself to be watched as energy flushed me of erroneous preconceptions. I am not what I was moments ago, and as such, importance shifts not to what I am, but just that I am. Being.

Don't eat what is fed to you!

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:25:08 +0100

The site is live, but don't tell anybody - I'm still editing. ;)

To those who are visiting this site, I hope you find it useful in understanding my perspective on life, nutrition, and movement among other things. I want a portal for those seeking to understand more about how powerful a holistic approach to achieving health and wellness really can be. I will begin by posting information that I have found to be important with my current and historic client rosters, and hope that questions from whatever audience I have will lead further exploration - please let me know if you have any questions.

After my morning sessions I came upon a new understanding of something I've been mulling over in my head for a while, a quote: "all spirituality is to relieve suffering." I wondered if all of it really was, and I wondered if suffering was necessary for spirituality. I found I was reading too literally, and that it could simply mean that we as humans have a distinct ability to suffer(some of us suffer all too well and become addicted to it), and that what we understand as "spirituality" is our total conceptualization of the knowledge acquired through experience and exploration towards comprehension of life's mysteries. We all suffer in different ways, and we all should be experiencing life and exploring new things to create our own unique brand of spirituality that keeps us stable through times of conflict - whatever the scale. My ruminations should not be taken as gospel, but hopefully will help you evaluate the truth consciously and objectively(hunting and gathering) instead of following blindly(eating what is fed to you).

Much love, and godspeed.

Recipe: CocoNUT Smackaroons!

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:35:53 +0100

Fitting that my first official blog entry is going to be about FOOD!

Some people will find this information frivolous and absolutely non-necessary...others will have "Aha!" moments (as in, "aha! I knew Dave was crazy."). In my journey to find the best AND tastiest things to eat I came to a cross-roads some time ago because it is difficult to find conveniently pre-prepared things...anything really, to eat, unless it is my own leftovers. Snack bars sometimes solve this issue for people, but eliminating gluten alone from the equation throws most recipes off balance and into the "Edible???" category, let alone a whole host of other things that sometimes make food stuff-my-face yummy, but make me feel shit-my-pants sick.

Finding something that has everything I want and nothing I don't want is very difficult. Yes, but of course.

Long story short, I've landed on a pretty good snack that is quick and can be cheaply made at home.
It's as simple as this:

What you need:
5 cups shredded coconut
1 can of coconut milk
8 egg whites
stevia to taste
pinch o' sea salt
4 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup of dried currants
coconut oil

What you do:
beat the eggs to stiff peaks.
beat in the salt, vanilla, arrowroot and stevia.
mix the coconut milk into the shredded coconut.
incorporate the coconut ingredients into the other ingredients and fold together.
grease muffin tins with coconut oil and cook at 300 for 20-25 minutes.

Notes:
These are really good straight out of the oven, but are also good the next morning...and I'm hoping they're good for the rest of the week. The challenge now is going to be to keep the protein content up without using egg whites, because egg-whites have to be cooked. Ideally I wouldn't have to cook this snack, I would instead mix the ingredients somewhat wet and use a gelatinous substance to keep it together. I bought some Agar Agar but haven't used any of it yet, because I've never used it before, but i'm thinking it will work. almond meal would be a good addition, but there is a lot of work involved in soaking/sprouting/drying/grinding to get the quality I want.

If anyone makes these or something similar, feel free to let me know your suggestions.