When the weather heats up my regular morning chai suddenly doesn’t seem so appealing anymore. Heating spices and hot milk seem too heavy for a light sunny day. So I decided to experiment with an iced summer version that could be had both with and without milk.

I wanted to keep the ginger in my chai both for the flavor kick and it’s belly-soothing properties, but also add a few cooling herbs and spices. The Ayurvedic Cookbook listed a range of options, and I decided on fresh mint and fennel seeds.

I loved how the iced chai turned out, next time I’ll have to make a double batch!

Iced Summer Chai

5 cups filtered water
1 inch fresh ginger root, crushed
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds
2 sprigs fresh mint leaves, chopped
2-3 tea bags or 2-3 tsp loose leaf black tea
2-3 tbsp agave syrup or honey (optional)
Ice cubes
Milk or non-dairy milk (optional)

1. Combine water, ginger and fennel in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then turn off the heat. Add the fresh mint leaves, and let steep for 5 minutes.  Add the teabags or leaves, and steep for a few minutes depending on how strong you want it. Add sweetener to taste.
2. Strain into a pitcher, and place in the fridge for a few hours to cool.* The iced chai tastes great over ice as is, or try adding a bit of milk. Mine was really good with about 2/3 tea to 1/3 nonfat milk.

*If, like me, you can’t wait for the tea to cool down, add tea, milk and ice cubes to a drink shaker and it cools down quickly and gets nice and frothy.

Through the movie Enlighten Up! I recently discovered the Indian artist Falu. She was born and raised in Mumbai, but is now based in New York. Her music is a mix of Indian and Western, and she sometimes sings in English and sometimes in Hindi. Her self-titled album is great for yoga, which doesn’t come as a surprise since Falu does yoga herself. Her press contact writes:

“Falu grew up with yoga as part of her daily life in India. As a child, the school days began with yoga, and now as an adult, every day starts with a head stand. Falu often speaks about the spiritual nature of both music and yoga and their abilities to connect herself with the Higher Being.”

You can listen to samples from the album on her website, and the full version of some of her songs on her MySpace page. I really like the first track on the album, Without You. Try it if you are looking for songs for a vinyasa playlist!

I currently have two amazing books on my morning reading list, Jivamukti Yoga and Talks With Ramana Maharshi. (When I have time I like to do this type of reading in the morning, when the mind is clear and not yet busy with the day’s todo list.)

These two books are of course very different, but Ramana talks a lot about yoga philosophy and I find it very interesting to relate these topics to the Jivamukti book. The Jivamukti style encourages including spiritual reading, music, pranayama and meditation in your practice. So if you usually stick to a mostly physical yoga practice, consider exploring a few philosophy books to see if they resonate with you.

One of my favorite quotes from Talks with Ramana:

“People think that freedom (moksha) is somewhere yonder and should be sought out. They are wrong. Freedom (moksha) is only knowing the Self within yourself. Concentrate and you will get it. Your mind is the cycle of births and deaths.”

I’m in the process of creating a Chai & Yoga reading list, so let me know if there are books that have touched you deeply or had a big impact on your yoga practice!

My yoga practice as been pretty irregular the last two months, and this Sunday I woke up really missing yoga. At seven months pregnant I practice a couple of times a week, depending on how I’m feeling. Some days that means a long slow walk instead of yoga, other days I’m up for rolling out my mat. On Sunday I felt great, and after some chai I had a nice one hour practice.

I wrote down the sequence I did, which was mostly pretty mellow. I move through the poses slowly, taking my time in the poses and being very deliberate in transitions. I still have occasional lower back pain from a nerve getting pinched, so for now I refrain from most forward bends (Prasarita Padottanasana being the exception - for some reason the wide stance makes it okay on my back).

If you’re pregnant and want to practice at home, always check with your yoga teacher, health care provider, and/or chiropractor before you practice new poses. In my experience it’s usually okay to continue a practice you’ve been doing regularly since before getting pregnant, but now is not the time to attempt anything new and challenging.

Prenatal Sequence at 7 Months

Vajrasana
Cat-cow
Tabletop -  extend alternate arm and leg, elbow to knee x 3
Adho Mukha Svanasana (AMS)
Balasana w/knees wide
AMS -> Plank x 3
Three-legged dog, external rotation in lifted leg, knee bent
Virasana on block w/neck stretch, shoulder roll
Tadasana
Virabhadrasana II -> Utthita Trikonasana -> Utthita Parsvakonasana
Prasarita Paddottanasana C
Malasana
Ustrasana (at wall) x 3
Balasana w/knees wide
Box on the wall (see picture below)
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana x 3, hold the last one
Relclined pigeon
Side twist
Savasana

The movie Enlighten Up! is finally making an appearance in Seattle, and will run at Varsity Theatre May 15-28. I’m really excited that a small yoga movie is making it into movie theaters all over the country, and I can’t wait to see it!

So what is the movie about? Here is a quick synopsis from the Enlighten Up! website:

Filmmaker Kate Churchill is determined to prove that yoga can transform anyone. Nick Rosen is skeptical but agrees to be her guinea pig. Kate immerses Nick in yoga, and follows him around the world as he examines the good, the bad and the ugly of yoga. The two encounter celebrity yogis, true believers, kooks and world-renowned gurus. Tensions run high as Nick’s transformational progress lags and Kate’s plan crumbles. What unfolds and what they discover is not what they expected.

Sounds like an interesting look at the Western yoga culture vs. it’s roots in India, with a good dose of humor…

Nick Rosen in his first week of yoga classes in New York City (official photo by Jonathon Hexner).

Pattabhi Jois and students at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India (official photo by Jonathon Hexner).

This winter a new vegan restaurant called Thrive opened in the Ravenna neighborhood in Seattle. I love their menu of healthy dishes made with fresh, organic ingredients. And everything is…raw. Which in the raw foods movement means that no food has ever been heated above 118 F (48 C). Can it still be good?

Actually, it can be quite amazing. On my last lunch at Thrive I had a spicy coconut soup made with young Thai coconuts, which was fantastic on a cold spring day. (I know it’s supposed to be raw, but I ordered the soup hot. Some of the dishes can, luckily, be heated upon request.) I also had a yummy salad with the House Lemon Tahini dressing. On a previous visit I tried several of the smoothies, and I loved the one called Longevity–apples, cucumbers, beets, and carrots.

So am I becoming a raw foodie anytime soon? Not likely, mainly because I like hot food, but also because some nutrients are more easily absorbed when food is cooked (like lycopene from tomatoes). But I appreciate having a healthy, vegetarian and organic restaurant option, and I will definitely be back.

I just wish the place didn’t make me feel like running off to the nearest bakery for a frosted cupcake for dessert…

I’m lying on a table at the Vital Energy Center in Seattle, and my chiropractor has just informed me that I have an imbalance in my hip that makes my right leg slightly shorter than the other. This is part of what’s causing the lower back pain I’ve been experiencing the last month, and the loosening of ligaments from pregnancy is not making it any better.

For once my usual answer to all afflictions, yoga, has failed to help. For a while my regular yoga practice was actually increasing the pain, with all forward bends and hip openers aggravating the shooting pain in my right hip. So for the first time in my life I decided to seek out a chiropractor.

I tried to go for the first visit with an open mind, and was surprised how similar the therapy felt to yoga. There is a lot of focus on body awareness, release of tension, and a general holistic approach to health. I have just started a six week treatment plan, and I’m curious to see the effects. I’m already back to a gentle yoga practice, so my hopes are up!

So far my only complaint is that I was recommended to wear Crocs inside the house, for arch support…

Read more about chiropractic treatment/philosophy on Wikipedia.

I just wrote an article about starting a new career as a yoga teacher in elephant journal, and thought I’d share it here. Check out some of the other articles on their site too, they write about all kinds of interesting topics related to ‘the mindful life’: yoga, organics, sustainability, genuine spirituality, conscious consumerism, and more.

Eight Steps to becoming a Yoga Teacher

Ready to escape the cubicle life and swap your business clothes for yoga pants?

According to a recent article from Reuters, the financial crisis and increasing unemployment is leading more and more people to pursue careers as yoga teachers. This might be the perfect time to reconsider your work life, and maybe blow the dust off those dreams of doing something different.

Regardless of the state of the economy, many yoga students are touched so deeply by their yoga practice that they feel compelled to go on to teach and share the benefits of yoga. Others are “just” looking for a fun job that is more aligned with their lifestyle.

If you are dreaming of becoming a yoga teacher, there are a few practical steps to consider:

1. Get a 200-hour certification.
Technically you don’t need a certification to teach yoga, but it’s a good idea to get some formal training. Most yoga studios and gyms require at least a 200-hour teacher training recognized by Yoga Alliance.

These days almost every yoga studio seems to have a teacher training. Do your research before committing to a program: What type of yoga would you like to specialize in? Do you have the time to do an intensive training, or would you rather space it out? Do you have a specific teacher you’d like to study with?

2. Register with Yoga Alliance.
Once you have completed and passed a recognized teacher training you can apply to Yoga Alliance to use the title Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). The registration gives you a listing in the Yoga Alliance online database of teachers.

3. Get some teaching experience.
If you’re new to teaching, getting some experience will help you find your teaching voice. This is the time to work on keeping left from right, mirroring students, and developing a few true and tested sequences. To get some practice, offer a few free classes to family, friends, and colleagues. “It really helped me develop my confidence while teaching and prepare me for auditions,” says Elena Moye Johnston, a Bellevue yoga teacher and the president of Evoke Fitness.

Continue reading the article in elephant journal >>

Sometimes it seems like the Lululemon uniform is unavoidable. I have a few Lululemon pants myself that I really like, but I also have a handful of other yoga pants in rotation that I love. And these days, who wants to spend close to $100 on a pair of yoga pants?

Here are some of my favorites:

be present mobility pants - thin, stretchy Breathe Weave fabric and a looser fit make these pants perfect for warmer days or a vinyasa practice. The sizes seem to run a little big, so if you order online get a size down if you’re in doubt. $63.00.

Hyde divine drawstring pants - soft, comfy pants in 92% organic cotton, 8% spandex, available in a rainbow of colors. Perfect for meditation and a slower yoga practice. The drawstring waist is really comfortable, but the lack of an elastic band makes these pants a little loose for a more vigorous practice. (Thanks, Hyde, for sending me a pair to review–I wear them all the time!) $69.00.

Fila athletic pants - good fit, stretchy, but not too suffocating, great all-round yoga pants for different types of practice. And they last forever, I’ve had my pants for three years and they still look almost new! $65.00.

There are also some cheaper yoga pants on the market that I like: American Apparel capris, tights and yoga pants, Victoria’s Secret yoga foldover pants, and American Eagle f.i.t. crop pants, all in the $15-35 range. These may loose some of their color and shape sooner depending on how much you use them, but you can’t beat the price!

Yesterday I went to a yoga flow class that was a little different. The first half of the class was business as usual with warm-ups followed by a few rounds of Surya A and B. For the second half the pace was slowed down and we worked on only a handful of poses, holding each pose for 2-5 minutes. Two minutes in Vrksasana felt like an eternity!

For me, the interesting part of holding poses for slightly longer is not just working through the physical discomfort, but observing the mental chatter. Sometimes you reach your physical limits and have to come out of the pose, but most of the time your edge is in your mind and not your body.

The mind (at least my mind) immediately starts coming up with reasons to come out of the pose, especially when I know I will be holding the pose for a while. Taking a mental step back and just observing the thoughts was a very meditative experience.

Later in the day when I went for a walk I realized that holding poses teaches you a lot about how you approach life in general. How does your mind behave? What are you telling yourself in the continuous stream of self-talk? What happens when you push the edge?