Ayurveda. Beets. Kitchen Ritual. ​

True.
Salad is typically a "spring & summer food" around these parts.
But sometimes you just get a hankerin'. Like today, when Marley said, "Mom, will you make a beet salad for lunch?

So when it comes to salad + winter in the Rocky Mountains, a few ingredients keep our vata mellow and nourished, while stoking our cold, sluggish kapha: 

• 8-10 BEETS (golden & red)
• ENDIVE & RADICCHIO (4 small heads)
• LEEKS (4 large)
• ARUGULA (2 cups)
• SUNFLOWER OIL (3 TBS)
• APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (2 TBS optional) 
• BALSAMIC VINEGAR (1/2 cup) 

Beets and leeks help to ground vata dosha and balance kapha dosha, while balsamic vinegar stimulates your digestion. The bitter/spicy greens are warming and purifying. When the bitter and spice is balanced with little orange morsels, vata stays calm. 
SO MANY exciting flavors make this salad worth breaking a few Ayurvedic rules for:

• ORANGES (two large)
• OLIVE OIL (1/2 cup + 2 TBS) 
• RICOTTA CHEESE (2 oz) Yoga + Ayurveda Workbook
• FETA CHEESE (4 oz) 

Olive oil and cheeses are all heavy enough to use sparingly during kapha season, but if you MUST use cheese (and in this recipe we MUST), light cheeses like goat cheese, ricotta, and feta are the most kapha-neutral options.

Ayurveda 101: Kapha flavors to savor include: bitter, spicy, and astringent. 
Vata is balanced by sweet, sour, and salty.  Vata season transitions to Kapha Season between January & February in the Northern Hemisphere. LEARN MORE. 

Quarter the beets, drizzle with Sunflower oil, add a dash of salt and pepper.
​I also sprinkle on a little Jalepeño pepper, to add a touch of warmth. 
Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (or until just tender.

Tear your "greens" and soak them in a "citrus bath" of 1/2 cup orange juice, and 1/4 cup lemon juice. You can also add 2 TBS of apple cider vinegar for a little extra zest. 

Slice your leeks vertically and drizzle with oil. Salt/pepper and roast for 15-20 minutes.
They can join the beets in the oven at 400 degrees F.

This salad gets 3 dressings. 
The first dressing is the citrus bath for the radicchio and endive (above).
The second is a creamy blend: 2 oz. ricotta, 4 oz. diced feta, and 1/2 cup olive oil.
The third dressing is a drizzle of balsamic glaze made from reducing balsamic vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until a thick glaze forms. 

ONCE YOUR BEETS & LEEKS HAVE COOLED:
Cut orange wedges into small morsels.
Line a plate with fresh arugula.
Top the arugula with endive, radicchio, leeks, beets, and orange morsels.
Dollop with the creamy cheese blend.
Drizzle with the balsamic glaze.
Top with a bit of cracked black pepper to taste.
ENJOY!

The Moon is Magic.
Actually, it is more than magical.
The lunar display of cyclical transformation is nothing short of mystical. Before scientists confirmed its gravitational power over the planet–the cycles and tides–mystics and poets sang of the moon’s energetic sway. Each month provides opportunity to celebrate the illuminating power of the full moon and surrender into the cleansing potential of the new moon.

When you align your daily practice with the rhythms of la luna, your entire life becomes attuned with the generating song of the universe. You become a creative force for manifesting your most meaningful human experience.
November is the month of connection. The full moon provides time to celebrate in community and to remember gratitude. The new moon asks you to let go of any protective patterns–barriers–that have prevented you from truly connecting with the world around you. Fears are conquered, limitations are dissolved, and wounds are healed in the sanctuary of deep person- to-person connection.
Join us as we dive into the sanctuary. ​

November Themes, Moons, & Holidays:
The Beaver Moon • Connection • Scorpio • Water Element • Gathering Energy • Collaboration • Building Shelter • Sanctuary ​

Find connection at the Kindness Collective and the Soul Artist Academy. 

Study this classic work by Indologist, Heinrich Zimmer
with Contemplative Mythologist, R.R. Shakti, PhD

I love you.
You know who you are. 
You are the reason I keep trying. 

You were the first one to trust me with your downward facing dog. 
You were the last person to leave last week's zoom call.
You've seen it all. My tenderness and scars. My triumphs and disgrace. 
You dare to look. You give me grace. 
And I love you for it. 

I love your face. 

You came over to my house that one night, nearly two decades ago, 
when I was lonely for deep company and hungry for the new perspective you would bring...
the wine. the ideas. everything. 
We called it the Goddess Gathering. 
I wanted to know what you know. 
Because I love you. 

Because you believed in me when my confidence wavered. 
I can't even count the love seeds you gave when
​you supported our seva in West Africa and Pine Ridge Reservation...
when you built sets at Yoga Rocks Mountain Fest or the Rocky Mountain Yoga Conference. 
You came. 
You sang. 
You made time for us. 
I found new confidence in your Basic Goodness. 

You brought hope to the Soul Artist Studio when it was build on a broken heart. 
a defiant 
and ambition broken heart
determined to make a new start
to make Soul Art
to sing a new song over old bones. 

I was never alone. 
You reminded me to listen for the beating spaces, 
for the meeting places,
for the meaning in between the gasps for air. 

I love you.
You know who you are. 
You were right there. 

You are the men who helped me build schools. 
who leapt of cliffs into the seven sacred pools
,..the women who formed a wisdom circle around my womb.
You gave me room to make mistakes. 
and I've made many in my day. And I'll make more, 
but you love me anyway. That's what love is for. 
Its for seeing and believing that there's something new in store–
something worth trying for. 

This is for you, over there. 
You there. 
You care to read this letter down to this line. 
May Love flood into your human experience; from mine.
It's just about time to check all our barriers at the door. 
To enter the chamber. To kiss the floor and to sit down at the table of the mystics. 
Those who tried to show us what love is. 

Could you be loved? 
...and BE LOVE? 
beyond the opposites.
without an end.
eternally transforming.
turning and returning again and again
to the guru within, as a student. 
As a teacher. 

​...As a friend. ​

Be Love Clothing is a beloved Inner Power Yoga® Lifestyle Partner because of their commitment to sustainability and activism...and they are just really cool people! They have been offering generous discounts to our Inner Power Yoga® tribe since 2012, and some of my most cherished tees come from their inspired creativity.

The last time we were in L.A. together, Gretchen and I had a chance to visit the owners of Be Love, KamGi and Kyle at their A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. store location in Topanga CA. The entire experience was nothing short of magical. As soon as we saw them, we knew immediately: these are just really cool people!

The Peace Warrior T-Shirt is one of my personal faves. ...Love their dreamy marketing.
...And, in the middle, that's KamGi, our new BFF!

Love. Inner Power. Diwali. 

What don’t I know?

We are all pretty sure about one thing: our own perspective. So many conversations begin with, “Look here,” or “Listen up,” because “This is where I stand.”

The whole entire enterprise of human engagement becomes a quest to be understood.

But standing in that mentality means staying in the dark—denying that there’s another point of view.

So here’s something new: What if you start each encounter with the question, “What don’t I know?”

Example: The neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking and it’s making me crazy. What don’t I know? Or: Marty left his dirty laundry in the middle of the floor, again. What don’t I know?

I fail at it daily. But when I remember this practice, my life is just better. It’s like real world enlightenment. The light shines on another’s perspective and I find out that we weren’t standing so far apart, after all.

Today is an Indian holy day: Diwali. It is an opportunity to celebrate the light.
The light of awareness.
The light of consciousness.
The light of your inner power.

There has never been a more crucial time for the teachings of Mystic Traditions to make their way into the real world human experience,
to make life... just better.
​

diwali. love. marriage.​
​Read more on these topics. 

Diwali is called the "Festival of Lights" because it is a celebration of illumination. It honors the light of your awakened consciousness. It invokes beauty, abundance, prosperity, and love–the archetypal attributes of the Indian Goddess, Lakshmi. This mystic tradition invites you to realize those attributes as qualities of your own mind. Rituals serve to remind you of your inner power and transform your awareness. Your most powerful expression of abundance is a grateful heart. Diwali is the party for a more meaningful life. 

diwali. light. rituals.​
​Read more on these topics. 

Holy Days.  Mystery.  ​Muertos.  

“I use the word mystery, rather than magic. I love magic. 
Something magic was always going to happen. 
When it did, it never did anything but land me in trouble.
MYSTERY is the depth of the sacred.”
― Marion Woodman​

Dear Friend,
It is palpable! ...the power of the sacred mystery.
Right here. Right now.
We are creating history...and HERstory.

Your life is profoundly meaningful. Your choices have power. ...even if that sacred purpose is yet to be revealed.

My cultural upbringing included a celebration of answers. It was always much better to be right. We wanted to know exactly what happens next, where we were going, what it all meant. Religion, politics, history, science–education was sought for concrete reality. The unknown was, frankly, dangerous. There was little room for mystery.

These days, I relish the unknown. Within it lies infinite potential. I have found that being "right" is limiting.

There is so much more.

As I revel in the light of the full moon, I honor the unseen darkness on the other side.

Today, I celebrate Dia de los Muertos with my family. This holiday was not a part of my cultural upbringing...it celebrates the unknown. As we gaze upon the photographs of our ancestors, we honor the love that brought us here. We revel in the light each soul brought to the planet. And we honor the mystery–the unseen journey on the "other side."

My yoga–mystic wisdom & ritual–empowers me to embrace the unknown with peace and wonder as I trust in the ultimate fulfillment of Love.

DEEP TRUST: We all could use a little, right about now.

​holy days. love. shadow.​
Read more on these topics. 

Imagine the world before electricity. I bet you'd tend your fire carefully. Make it last through the cold, dark night.
...And then comes dawn. Every morning is like a victory–the triumph of the light. 
That is why Indian holy days, like Diwali. celebrate the light. 
That is why Indian mantras, like Gayatri, invoke and worship the light as a divine power. 

It is. 

In yoga, I honor the "dawning of awareness" as the power of illumination which awakens, heals, and provides clear vision. 

But the light does not always come easy. Let me explain with a story: 

Once upon a time my husband and I were arguing. It was heated. Now, I can't even remember what it was about. But at the time I was quite certain–I had no doubt–that I was "RIGHT!"
He disagreed. He presented his case, but I doubled down on my point of view, again and again. I wanted him to realize (and admit) that I was "RIGHT!" 

Then something happened. Mid-sentence. It hit me like a floodlight: "Oh, shit. He is right... 
​
I'm wrong."

Daaaang! I felt just like Wile E. Cayote when he looks down from his full-throttle pace to realize that there is nothing beneath him but empty space and a long, hard fall. 

We celebrate the light as if it is always welcome. As if we are in a state of perpetual curiosity, always ready to expand and embrace personal development. 

But sometimes we're not.

Sometimes we think we already have the answer. We already know. We are "RIGHT!"...and nothing will change our minds. Then the light of awareness "dawns" on us illuminating our flaws. It isn't comfortable. Sometimes, truth be told, we wish we could stay in the dark. 

​Our practice often determines what happens next. 
Yoga provides the courage and compassion to face, and embrace, the light.

So back to that one time, when I was wrong:
I took a deep breath, mustered up the humility and said, "Wait. I'm just realizing that you are right. I am wrong. I am sorry."

My husband looked at me, first with surprise, then tenderness. "Yeah," he said. "I love you." 
I had braced myself for impact, but it turned out to be a super soft landing. Blissful in fact. 
Because in that moment, I realized that being wrong gives me the opportunity to experience his unconditional Love. If I were always "RIGHT," I would never feel the sweet sensation of forgiveness. 

When I embrace my imperfection it becomes a radiant gift. 
I am human, and growing. I wouldn't want it any other way.
Inspired by the words of Leonard Cohen: The cracks are where the light gets in. 
That realization has been, for me, like the break of a glorious new day. 

​Happy Diwali