Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

When I first came to yoga, I thought it was about body movement. Sweating, moving, breathing, standing on your hands, you know, the usual.

If you know me, you hear me say all the time, “I love my life. I GET to do this every single day. How flippin’ amazing is that? I get to connect with phenomenal people, invite DJs and musicians to my class, move my body, educate myself, work one-on-one with people, write for magazines and online publications, and travel to fun places if I’m lucky.

Hey there, you know me, that girl online who is all smiles and sunshine. What if it wasn’t always that way and isn’t always that way still?

In my house, it’s my job to organize the refrigerator. This isn’t because I’m a master organizer by any means, but more because the kitchen is my domain. It’s my happy place. I spend a lot of time there and I love playing and experimenting with food and new recipes. And on top of all that, it’s my job to make sure my family eats well.

Nutritionist secret here: I used fresh basil for the first time and it was amazing!

Did that title grab your attention? Being a YogaDownload.com blog reader, you’re probably already familiar with the idea of a detox and retreats. And you’ve probably thought they were a great idea? The premise of them being that it gives your body an opportunity to detoxify from all those nasty toxins out there.

It’s really hard to know how much sugar you’re getting in those self serve frozen yogurt places and even in the organic ice pops that you get in the grocery store. Too much sugar can lead to dehydration and rob you of nutrients you really want your body to have in the heat of the summer.

If you’ve done the live Conscious Cleanse program with us then undoubtedly you recall Jo’s infamous “chicken breast story.”

The Yoga Zapper is the tale of two young American brothers, who, thrust into strange worlds, find within themselves the courage and faith to grow, change and discover their unimagined destinies.

What exactly is a retreat? The definition from Webster is an act or process of withdrawing; a place of privacy or safety; a period for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director. I would add, a period of time you completely unplug and disconnect from your normal routine, responsibilities, and distractions, to focus completely on yourself and your needs.

Let's be realistic: it can take a lot of cash (and vacation time) to get yourself to one of this summer’s epic yoga gatherings. Not everyone can do that, but we all deserve the special experience. We made a yoga festival you can have at home – and it even includes top marquee yoga teachers! Welcome to the first annual DIY Yoga Festival – gather your friends, your mat and set your intention to fun for one day this weekend.

Do you remember the last time you felt real fear?

Doing your ABCs is an acronym for “always be cleansing,” but it doesn’t mean that you should be on a formal cleanse year-round. Rather, it’s the idea that you can realistically eat and live in a way that supports detoxification and optimal digestion all the time.

Patience is being completely open to each moment, accepting it in it’s fullness, and acknowledging things unfold in their own time.

It’s amazing to me … this life, this body we walk around in, our thoughts, our dreams. This entire existence we call life. I slept through a good portion of mine, mainly because I was in pain and didn’t really know how to deal with it. Had no tools at all! I kept running into pain and after falling down over and over again, I began to numb, to stuff and ignore my pain. Traversing through life above my pain was my coping mechanism. Putting it away for another time was easier.

Let’s face it: summer in the city can be intense. The heat makes us irritable, impatient, and easily frustrated. There are many common ways to cool down such as blasting the A/C but that can be a great waste of energy, or weighing in at your nearest self-serve frozen yogurt shop but that can add up on the body and in the bank. The ancient seers of India had their own internal cooling system that comes from the traditional healing science known as Ayurveda.

I hate bugs. I was standing with a friend of mine, talking, completely unaware he had a preying mantis on his shoulder till the thing jumped onto my face!

Happy 4th of July! In the spirit of freedom day, I created the Red White and Blue Green Smoothie. I find that if I start my day off right with a boat load of fresh fruit and dark leafy greens, the rest of the day just seems to go better.

Remember how you used to be told that if you were feeling thirsty, you were already dehydrated? Well, that isn’t true. Your body isn’t designed to tell you when you’re too late, it’s designed to trigger the thirst mechanism when it is time to drink something – BEFORE you are dehydrated!

Get ready to have your socks knocked off! The recipe I’m sharing today has been one of my favorites lately. Tart and tangy, this tropical juice is refreshing and surprisingly filling.

Summer is such a glorious time of year! As a sun worshiper and fruit junkie, June is heaven on earth to me. I love visiting my local health food store seeing the abundance of ripe, juicy, crisp, cool fruit available – all at a great price to boot! From mango to watermelon to cherries to nectarines and apricots. I can’t seem to get enough.

It was 9am and I had already been on the phone for almost 2 hours. I knew the rest of my day would be more of the same. I ducked into yoga just to get away from it for 90 min, but all I could hear was bzzzzz, bzzzzzz, bzzzzzz. Was I really getting that many text messages in a row? 90 min later, I really did have 45 new text messages, 6 new FB messages, 18 emails and 3 voicemails. I was glad my Vetiver oil and Savasana had me calm or I probably would have had an anxiety attack. It was 10:30am.

When temperatures start to rise and the air grows thick and sticky, the last thing we think about eating is a salad covered in mayonnaise. But many of our traditional coleslaw recipes are just that! Here at the Conscious Cleanse, we love our veggies and aim to make them the star of the show! If you agree, you’re going to love this back-to-basics coleslaw recipe that lets the crunch and flavor of our vegetable friends shine through.

Being ‘holistic’ is a lifestyle. It’s not just about eating organic food and being a yogi. It’s about looking at your whole life, from food to career to your home to your relationships and removing what’s toxic from it. And it takes time to change your mindset from what’s easy to what’s right.

It’s been a long week. You’re craving a glass of wine, but you want to treat your body like a temple and at the same time you want to feel comforted. Instead opt for a soul nourishing soup that’s good for your body too!