the yogini cowgirl

a new family tradition ...

122610.   If I could paint a picture of a perfect Christmas Eve …

The sun would be shining.

There would be a fresh blanket of snow on the ground.

A small but sturdy man named Wayne would harness his favorite Grey Percherons Sofi and Henry to a large sleigh.

And the Cowboy would wrangle our bundled up gang into the blanketed seatbacks.

We’d sing carols … like Jingle Bells and Silent Night.  Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  We might realize that we need a refresher in the words to Frosty the Snow Man.

We'd break fresh snow as we sleighed to a cabin where we’d warm our toes and enjoy some hot cocoa and cookies.

There would be lots of laughing.

Lots of joy.

Lots of love.

If I could paint a picture of a perfect Christmas Eve … it would be of the Christmas Eve we had two days ago …

The first of a new family tradition.

I’ll be on a digital sabbatical for the next few days … check back after New Year’s Day!

Wishing you all a blissful week between holidays …

 

Q: Have you started any new family traditions this year?

cookies ... part deux

122210.  I love Christmas cookies.

My skinny jeans don't love Christmas cookies.

But I love them.

And not just because they're so tasty.

(Sammy's mom's recipe for molasses cookies just out of the oven ... before the icing ... I'm hoping she'll share it with everyone because they're the best molasses cookies I've ever had.)

I love the baking.

I love the Christmas carols in the background.

 I love the family it brings together.

 

(Cousins - Sammy teaches the LO their family recipe)

(The LO "helps" Sammy measure flour ... she's quite a baker for a 20-month old)

I even love the mess it makes in the kitchen ... the flour coated counter is like a badge of honor ... well ... sort of ... I mean ... I don't love the clean up ... but making the mess is so much fun.

Q:  What brings your family together through the holidays?

 

When In Doubt Simplify | zen habits

Another great post from zenhabits.net ... Leo seems to have it right.  Check it out:

It’s the time of year when everyone is in a crazy rush: to shop to decorate to get ingredients to go to parties to travel to get last-minute work done to go to the kids’ Christmas pageants to go caroling to get those to-dos done.

via zenhabits.net

an exchange ... not just of ideas

122010.  I made pumpkin whoopie pies yesterday.  For the first time.  And they were pretty easy to make.  And they were AMAZING. 

Notice my use of the past tense “were?”  That’s because there are none left.  And they were gone so fast I didn’t take any photos.

(This is a photo from the Pioneer Woman’s tasty kitchen blog … I made just a few minor revisions to her recipe, but this was my starting point … and oh what a delightful place to start!)

Sure … a few of them made into gift bags for a few friends and cohorts. 

But if I’m totally honest, more of them than should have, made it into the bellies of me the LO.  (The Cowboy's got willpower when it comes to sweets that i admire and aspire to.)

So I’ve got to make them again today and this time, I’ll take a picture for you.  This time, too, I’m going to make smaller pies … bite size, I think.  I like the idea, but it may change the baking time, so I’ll let you know.

Here’s the how-to:

For the Cookies/Pies:

• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 can Pumpkin (15 Oz.)
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
• ½ teaspoon Ground Cardamom (I added the Cardamom … I’m obsessed with Cardamom)

For the Whoopie (cream filling):

• 1 cup Cream Cheese Softened (8 Oz. package)
• 1 stick Butter, Room Temperature (the original recipe called for unsalted butter … we only had salted and it worked out just fine)
• 2 cups Powdered Sugar
• a few drops Vanilla Extract
• ½ tsp Cinnamon 
• ½ tsp ground Cardamom (again … if I can add Cardamom, I’ll do it … it’s aromatic, warm, sort of sultry … yummmmmm)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pumpkin Cookies/Pies:

• In a stand mixer, beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil, pumpkin and vanilla. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
• Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
• Cut 3 inch squares of parchment paper, about 24. Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. (Note that the squares allow the baker to move the square while keeping the bag in the same spot. Just squeeze for easy circle making!)

Transfer each square to a baking sheet. Bake for 11 minutes, or until firm, and cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese Filling:

• Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom.
• Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece.
• Enjoy right away, or chill overnight. According to the Pioneer Woman, these keep very nicely in the fridge for at least a few days … wouldn’t know.  They lasted about 3 hours in our house J

 Q:  Okay … your turn … any amazing cookie recipes you’d like to exchange?

 

 

as the days get shorter … time for yoga and meditation runs out?

121710.  Five more days until Solstice.  Five more days until the full moon.  Five more days until the total lunar eclipse. 

And as we lead up to the shortest day of the year, I’ve been practicing my Surya Namaskar and Surya Kriya (Sun Salutations and Sun Set) so I can invite the energy of the sun back into my life.

I must admit, I haven’t had a ton of time these days for my yoga practice.

My classes at BE THE CHANGE are on hold until the first week in January, so I haven’t had to get up for Sadhana three days a week.

Then that stomach virus last weekend really knocked it out of me.

And the Little One got it.

And then the Cowboy.

And then I realized how little time there was before Christmas and I’ve been rushing around to finish last minute “stuff” before the SuperMom and SuperStepDad arrive next Wednesday.

So wherever I am ... whenever I can ... I look for moments to connect and reconnect.

I’ve been “stealing” moments to practice and to meditate.

I wake up a few minutes early.  Three Sun Salutations.

The LO falls asleep in the car on the way home from her tumbling class.  I plug in my iPod and practice the SA RE SA SA: Meditation for the Chakras  (from the book Yoga for Prosperity by Siri Kirpal Khalsa) for 11 minutes while sitting in my car, waiting for her to wake.

The Cowboy runs an errand to the store, a few more sun salutations and a minute of Breath of Fire.

Struggling to sleep, I spend a few minutes in shoulder stand to get a few extra moments of "yogic sleep" and then silently chant SA TA NA MA as I climb into bed ... before it begins again.

 

Q:  What do you do with your stolen moments?

Sa Re Sa Sa: Meditation for the Chakras

POSTURE: Sit in any meditative posture, i.e., Easy Pose or in a chair with a straight spine with a light neck lock (Jalandhar Bandh).

Let the arms extend straight and rest over the knees. Make Buddhi Mudra with both hands (touch the fleshy pad of the thumb tip to the nail tip of the little finger). The other fingers are relaxed but straight. (The yogis associate Buddhi Mudra with the planet Mercury. It is for invoking mental and psychic powers of communication.)

Become completely still in the posture, both physically and mentally, like a calm ocean. Listen to the chant for a minute. Feel its rhythm in every cell. Then join in the mantra.

EYES: The eyes are closed, looking upwards into the third eye point.

BREATH: Let the breath come naturally.

MANTRA:

Sa Re Sa Sa, Sa Re Sa Sa, Sa Re Sa Sa, Sa Rung

Har Re Har Har, Har Re Har Har, Har Re Har Har, Har Rung

Translation:

That Infinite Totality is here, everywhere.

That creativity of God is here, everywhere. 

 

a holiday wish ...

121510.  A gal I went to high school with is Jewish.  She lives in Texas.  And she has kids.

I don’t know her well.

We were classmates, and we reconnected on Facebook just a month or so ago.

I don’t know much about her life.

Just what appears in her status line every once in a while.

And yesterday her status said something to the effect that it wouldn’t be the holidays if her kids didn’t hear from their classmates that they are going to hell because they don’t believe in Jesus.

I’m paraphrasing.

But.

Wow.

Seriously.

So disheartening.

But then I realized how unsurprised I was.

I got to thinking about my college boyfriend Eric … and the family member of mine who took me aside and said I couldn’t marry him because we “wouldn’t spend eternity together.”

And then I thought about the conversation his mother had with me … that whatever kids we might have would never be Jewish, even though I had been meeting with a rabbi to convert, and she would prefer I not get my hopes up to marry her son. 

(NOTE:  I believe Eric married a Catholic girl who didn’t convert … I love irony…)

And then I thought about the priest at my nephew’s christening who went out of his way to degrade any belief system outside the Christian mythology. 

(NOTE:  My sister’s husband was not raised in a Judeo-Christian home … his parents where there and I’m SURE they were more offended than I was … and I was there with my then-Jewish-boyfriend … I was not only offended … but I was embarrassed by this supposed learned-man-of-God’s ignorance and intolerance.)

The thing is … this blog isn’t an outlet for me to get on my high horse with opinions about politics or religion.

I would rather it be a venue to explore how to find happiness, healthiness and holiness in an everyday life …

But I’ve been in turmoil since reading that status update …

The thing is … I understand that the kids who are taunting my classmate’s children probably don’t mean harm.  They are expressing the beliefs they are taught at church and at home.  They are early in the indoctrination into the beliefs of their parents, and learning to express those beliefs is just a normal part of deciding whether they’ll embrace or deny the system.

I just hope that this holiday season, we can remind all of our little ones that just because one family believes one thing … another family’s belief and faith is equally valid.  Christian.  Jewish.  Hindu.  Muslim.  Buddhist.  Agnostic.  Atheist, et al.  We have no way of knowing who is right or who is wrong.  That’s why it’s called “faith.”

So as we move closer to the darkest day of the year (Winter Solstice ... Dec 21) ... Let's be the light ... let's be the hope ... let's embrace the true spirit of the holiday season and choose to live in peace ... live in consciousness ... and kindness ...

Q: What do you hope for this holiday season?

 

Tied Up in Knots? The Minimalist’s Guide to Inner Peace | zen habits

I'm a big fan of this blog ... and this particular post seemed pretty poignant for this time of year ...

Are you ready to be a warrior for inner peace? Doing less and organizing more simplifies for sure. But until you deal with the ways you get knotted up inside, your life will be complicated, and the glory of inner peace will elude you.

via zenhabits.net

a season of giving and sharing ...

121410.  But sometimes … it’s not nice to share …

Like when you have a stomach virus on a Saturday … and you’re up all night dealing with it … it’s not really a nice thing to share that with the Cowboy and the Little One …

Because then … two nights later … they might be up all night dealing with it.

And that’s just a bummer.

Wishing you a healthy and happy holiday season!

Fondly,

The YC

PS - no pics today because I didn't think you'd enjoy any pics I could have taken these past few days :) 

Q:  Are you ready for Christmas???  (It's 11 days away ... yikes)

 

the dreaded SNOOZE button ...

120910. A reader recently sent me an email that got me thinking.  She wanted to know how I manage to get up in the morning for yoga and meditation.  And the thing is … I recognized myself a LOT in her email.  Here's her dilemma:

I desperately want to get up early before work to do some yoga/meditation, go to the gym and get to work at a decent time. This would then allow me to come home at a decent time and have time to relax / study (Indian Head Massage) or catch up on minor housework chores.

Instead I reset the alarm clock, get up at the latest possible moment, get to work later than anyone else, have to stay later at work, have to go to the gym after work (which I'm failing to do), have less time for study (which I'm failing to do), housework and relaxing (fail, fail). This all combines to make me feel that I'm failing at everything and it all becomes a downward spiral.

I have a clue that the answer may be in changing my thinking about getting up early before work, and the benefits that will bring. I just find it extremely difficult to motivate myself.

I just wondered if you had any words of advice.

Here’s my thinking about what happens when we keep hitting snooze:

First off, we make all these grand plans:  “I’m going to get up an hour early, get to the gym for an hour of cardio … or there’s a yoga class at 7 … if I can get there and get home by 8:45, I’ll have time for a quick shower and still be to work by 9:30.”

Uh huh.

They are great plans.

We set our alarm clocks with the best of intentions.  We know that it’s a good thing to wake up early, practice some yoga (or move your body in some way), meditate, get settled and focused for the day ahead.  Really good.  The world is easier to deal with when you start the day with a little sweat … a little laughter … and a little meditation.

But then the alarm goes off.

And our mind gets to work (If you’re anything like me, there’s a real dialogue that goes on in your head):

“Five more minutes.”  “I can still get to the gym if I skip a shower.”  “I’ll take a yoga class during lunch.”  “I’ll get to the gym after class.”  “It's only five more minutes.”

Snooze.

ZZzzzzzzz.

Alarm.

Snooze.

ZZzzzzzzz.

Alarm.

Snooze.

ZZzzzzz.

Alarm.

“Crap. Now I’m late.”  “No time for yoga.”  “No time for the gym.”  “No time for the meditation.”  “I can’t go during lunch because I have that meeting … hmmmm.”  “I can still get there tonight. … Oh no … I forgot I have that thing tonight … Aaaargh.”

And it’s proof-positive that our minds/egos are pretty powerful.

You see, the ego likes to have that control – keep us doing what it wants, ratherthan what we want/know we need.

It’s just so dang easy to get caught in this cycle.

But there is a way out.

Although it does take a little effort.

I’m speaking from experience here … I had the same problem when I was just starting out in my own practice.

Two things helped me make a shift (to take the power away from my ego and give it to my "soul" or "self"):

1 - START SMALL.  Instead of making grand plans (to get out of bed, get dressed, get to the gym, get home to shower and dress and get to work ... basically adding more than an hour to my morning), I started small ... if all I did was wake up and do 5 sun salutations and meditate for 3 minutes, I was a winner.  Some days, all I did was a 3 minute wake-up set (1 minute of stretch pose w/breath of fire, 1 minute of knees to nose with breath of fire, 1 minute of ego eradicator with breath of fire) and 3 minutes of a simple meditation before jumping in the shower to start the day.  After about a month (probably more like 40 days), I wanted to do more ... so I kept adding more ... Ishnaan (cold shower), kriya, meditation ...

The other thing I did:

2 - CREATE A SITUATION THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU AN "OUT."  What I mean by that is ... if someone is waiting for you to pick them up to take them to the gym or yoga studio, you can't very well turn off your alarm.  Or, if you invite a friend to your house to practice with you ... you've got to be up and ready when they arrive ... you've created a situation that won't let you turn off your alarm.  Early on, I had a neighbor who agreed to meet me for walking meditations 2 or 3 mornings a week.  We started out walking for 30 minutes ... worked up to about an hour ... we both lost weight, we both "got happy."  And she just completed her third marathon.  The idea of her waiting outside my door in the morning got me up and out ... 

I don't know if these suggestions will help you ... but I hope so ... because I think if you add yoga and meditation all of those other things (work, home, study) get easier.

Q: How do you quiet your mind when it's working against you??

 

Home, again. Home again.

120610. Jiggity jig.
(a real post tonight ... after the LO goes to bed)

boy-oh, that buckin’ horse is hot … or, why it’s important to maintain your self-care … even when you’re in Vegas

120510.  The LO went to her first rodeo last night.

And I think she had a good time,

She was, at the very least, mesmerized by what was going on in the arena …

The buckin’ broncos.

The bull riding (these guys all put themselves in serious danger ... takes a certain mindset, I think).

And the “nay-nays” (that’s what she calls horses) riding like the wind.

It was wild.

And it was fun.

And it was major sensory overload.

Basically … it was Vegas.

And when we got back to our room last night it took about 4 minutes for both of us to fall into a deep deep sleep. 

The Cowboy stayed out for a bit … when you’re a rodeo veteran, the NFR is like a family reunion … and it’s important to spend time with the old gang.  To laugh.  To reminisce.  To reconnect with friends.

And what I realize today that maybe I didn’t realize five years ago is that it’s equally important (even when you’re on vacation) to find a few minutes to stay centered.  Because it’s easy to say “I don’t need to do my yoga.”  “I don’t have time to exercise.”  “I don’t have time to meditate.”  “I don’t need to eat right.”  “I don’t.” “I can’t.” “I won’t.”

But here’s the thing … a conscious, committed 10 minutes can make your vacation 10x more relaxing … make you 100x more present … and 1000x happier.

It’s a well-spent 10 minutes.  I promise.

So next time you find yourself waking up in a hotel room … before anyone else wakes up … take 10 minutes to do the following wake-up set and see how things go …

Tune in with the Adi Mantra (it’s okay to tune-in silently, so as not to wake your roommates):

    Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo

As you silently chant the mantra 3 times, you’re calling upon that subtle divine teacher within, to allow you to have a complete experience.

Now bring yourself to standing for 2 or 3 sets of Surya Namaskar (sun salutations).  Feet together.  Spine straight.  Hands in prayer pose at your heart center.

• Inhale and raise your arms overhead.  Look toward your hands.
• Exhale and fold forward.  Hands to the ground.
• Inhale and lift up … (hands to shins, spine parallel to the ground).
• Exhale and fold forward again.  Hands on the ground.
• Inhale and jump or step back into high plank.
• Exhale and lower to low plank position.
• Inhale, straighten your arms, lower your hips, lift your head and arch your back, bringing yourself into Cobra.
• Exhale and, using your navel, raise your hips to the sky, drop your head, bringing yourself into downward facing dog (In Kundalini Yoga, we call this “triangle pose.”)  Legs are straight. Arms are straight (elbows are turned in so the pressure/weight is on your thumb and first finger).  Neck is relaxed.
• Remain in Triangle Pose for 3-5 complete breaths.
• On an inhale, step or float your feet between your hands.
• Exhale bringing yourself to a standing forward bend.
• Inhale and come to standing, raising your arms overhead.
• Exhale and bring hands to prayer pose, and lower arms so hands are at your heart center.
• Repeat … 2 or 3 times …

To end, sit in easy pose (cross-legged) with a straight spine.  Close your eyes.  Focus on your third eye and silently meditate on the sound current Sat Nam (truth is my identity).  Inhale, exhale, and relax.

Tops, this takes 10 minutes.  And as I mentioned, it can change everything … for the good.

 

Q:  Why do you let your practice lapse when you get busy or when you’re on holiday?

 

 

Cowboy Christmas

For cowboys ... cowgirls ... and cowLOs ...happy days!!!

not usually up at this hour on a Friday ...

120310.  But it’s NFR time!

So last night I went to bed early.  Drifted.  Dreamt.

And now it’s time for me and the LO to scrape the snow off the LR3 and hit the trail to the airport.

Woohoo!

I’ll be checking in this weekend with photos and updates …

Pause for reflection …

Man … it would have been cool to see the Cowboy compete in his steer-wrestling days.  He’s so neat.

 

Q:  What do you wish you could have seen?

 

 

Win $200 Target Gift Card and $25 Starbucks Card | Coffee on the Patio

So ... it's the holiday season ... and we're teaching the LO to share ... so I'm setting a good example by sharing this GIVEAWAY link with you all ... Enjoy and good luck!

By the way ... we don't have a Starbucks in Bozeman ... so if I win the giftcard, I'll be happy to share that, too!

 

via coffeeonthepatio.com

I used to ... and I'm glad I don't anymore ...

120210.  I used to wake up at 6 am so I could get myself to Runyon Canyon to take Henry for a hike … all year long.

I used to be in the office by 8 or 8:30 finishing the script I fell asleep reading last night.

I used to have a calendar filled with general meetings … with writers, actors, directors.

I used to have a phone sheet longer than I like to admit.

I used to go to lunch with agents.

I used to have drinks and dinner meetings with executives.

I used to do this.

I used to do that.

I used to be "really busy."

I used to be "really stressed."

I used to think everything I did was "really important."

But that’s not who I am today.

And sometimes I forget that fact.

Because today, I’m up at 4:30 because I have Sadhana at 6.

Then swimming lessons at 10.

Class at 1.

I’ve got to take the dogs to the vet’s at 3.

I have to swing by the bank and the post office.

And I’m lucky if I get 3 or 4 phone calls a day

It’s a way less stressful life.

So … when I get phone call at 2:20 from someone I’m supposed to have met at 2 … about a project that I’m really excited to be a part of … well … I get that sick rush of adrenaline.

And I get swept back up into the life I used to live.

I have to consciously bring myself back to the present.

As Ram Dass says … “Be Here Now.”

I have to consciously remind myself to breathe.

And where the old me would have berated myself (and/or my assistant) for being so late …

For being so thoughtless …

For being so irresponsible …

The new me is much more aware that even a really important meeting is just a meeting.

I respect that people have things to do, and their time is valuable.

But I acknowledge that it wasn’t an intentional slight on my part to have lost track of the time and day.

And I know that the important work will get done when it’s supposed to.

So …

 

Q:  How are you today?

 

He "air-mailed" that steer ...

120110. The hay has been moved. 

The horses turned out. 

The Meditations are done. 

The Mantras are sung.

The house is clean.

The bags are packed.

And we’re ready to go.

National Finals Rodeo.

 

(the Cowboy in his steer-wrestling heyday … the current NFR guys have nothing on my Cowboy)

Here we come!

Vegas, baby …

(Actually ... the Cowboy leaves today for the NFR ... the LO and I will meet him there for the weekend ... I wonder if there's a mantra for the protection of all the steer wrestlers in the world ... hmmm ... research!)

 

Q: Do you have big plans for the weekend?