Yoga and Chocolate Workshop

Took a wonderful journey last night with 9 other ladies in my very first Yoga and Chocolate Workshop.  Blended music with a heat building yoga class, added some decadent chocolate truffles from Isabella's Cafe and we were off on a wonderful journey to explore how yoga + chocolate intermix.
Wanting it to be a special experience, I created a special play list just for this class.  Needed an inspiring mix of soft, heart-warming music, upbeat energetic music and some tunes to get the blood flowing. Listen my play list on the right side of the page and on my website.
We started out with a 70% dark chocolate truffle to cleanse the palette and wake up the senses...allowing it to slowly melt in our mouths and feeling the sweetness envelope our senses.  It was a lovely start to class as i moved the ladies into balasana to flowing through their bodies.create a sense of calm and warmth and to allow them to really melt into the moment with the scent and taste of chocolate.  We indulged in some delicious truffles and to celebrate, we ended the class with our final truffle paired with strawberries and champagne.  The perfect way to end the evening.
Chocolate has such a mystical magical hold on us...so many emotions wrapped up in such a seemingly simple food.  When we think of chocolate, we think of love and comfort, warmth and security, indulgence and passion.  Each moment we taste it is different and each moment is an experience.  And that is what this workshop was all about....savoring the moments in life and sharing the experience with friends.  We were all on a common journey for one evening and we all shared in the moments and yet we will all take something different away from the experience.  And in the end, what is truly important is that we were here and present and savoring a moment in life.
Robin Sharma said that "Life is just a series of moments. If you miss the moments, you miss your life."  In each day, try to savor the sweetness, the goodness, the warmth that life has to offer while you embrace the heat, the fire, the energy, the spice of life that keeps us alive.  And don't forget to indulge n a chocolate or two along the way.

Until next time, chocoholics....
Namaste.
Richelle

Listen to my Playlist:
Nocturne
Dream Weaver
Bittersweet Symphony
Day'n'Nght
1,2,3,4
September
I Gotta Feeling
Black
Drops of Jupiter
What's Up?
Dogs
Gravity
Falling Slowly
This Womans Work

Chocolate Facts:

- Chocolate increases antioxidant levels in the blood

- Mexican healers use chocolate to treat bronchitis and insect bites
- Endorphins, natural opiates that are released by the brain in increased amounts when eating  chocolate, thereby elevating one's mood and reducing pain- Casanova used chocolate as an aphrodisiac before seducing women
- We crave chocolate during PMS due to our lowered magnesium levels...chocolateis high in magnesium
- On the flip side, progesterone is high during PMS so we crave fatty foods...hence our mind numbing cravings for chocolate

Click here for Upcoming Workshops

Adventures in Backyard Yoga

So I decided to take advantage of the great weather we're having and take my yoga practice outdoors today....new extension on our deck would work wonders for my practice. I wiped down some space (moisture from the night left on the deck), set up my mat, block and strap. My 'babies' ...my dog and cat decided they wanted to join me and share in this glorious morning. So I let my dog out and got Jake, the cat, strapped n to his harness and we all got settled in for a great practice. The sun is shining, birds chirping and all is good in the world....absolutely beautiful.

My laptop was all set-up to start my itunes podcast (have to give a shout-out to Apple...love my macbook and Hillary Rubin, who's podcast I was doing). I love doing podcasts in the morning for my practice. I have a pretty busy schedule and sometimes it's not so easy to get out of the studio for classes. Having the ability to do podcast at home keeps me in touch with other yoga teachers and is nice to be guided through a creative sequence with tips and cues you can then carry forward in to your own classes. I choose a level 2/3 class to challenge myself. In this class there were some great sequences, hip openers, bakasana, and handstand.

I was about 35 minutes in to my practice...sun is out in full effect and what seemed like a good idea is now turning in to a slight heatwave. I was dripping sweat everywhere...my mat, my blocks, my towel and I knew that I was releasing toxins & burning off the Molten Chocolate Lava Cake my husband was experimenting with last night...hmmmm...or at least that is what I kept telling myself so I could get through it.

Molten Lave Cake:
450 calories/serving
Burning off the calories...burning off the calories....that is my mantra in my practice today. All approximately 450 of them...I am not even going to tackle or think about the fat and sugar. Needless to say, it was a yummy cake and gave me some motivation for my practice today.

So I am sweating and detoxing and my muscles are beginning to shake a little (okay, so allot) and the podcast leads me into bakasana or crow pose. On a good day, I can get up no problem....on a not-so-good-day, this pose can be challenging. I was having the latter...add sweat to the mix and it made things a little bit more challenging. In any case, I did it and all was good again in the world. Onward and forward.

At this time my cat has decided to become one with my mat and proceeds to roll around under me while I am recovering in downward dog. This is fine until he decides it is also a good time to play and test out his manly claws on my mat....not good. Trying to move him becomes a complicated yoga pose on it's own. After a bit of a wrestling match, I am victorious...minus a few scratches. Back to my practice. I reconnect to my breath and sink back in to downward dog. As I look towards my feet I notice that Jake has left me a present...apparently he is shedding and has left the good makings for a hair transplant if you know of any cats in need. Sigh. Breath and stretch..breath and stretch.

Moving forward and upward...time for handstand....shudder;-) This is an asana that I have trying to master and overcome fears of falling. Amazing how you can do and be so fearless when you are younger, but as you age you become less confident in your body and movements. Yoga is about letting go of ego and taking yourself to new levels, new heights and challenges. For me, this include handstand without a wall. So I have the brilliant idea of tackling this in the grass. This will give me a little cushioning in case I do fall. So over to the grass I go.

Let's recap...I have a dog and a husband who likes to grow the grass super long in the backyard. And for some reason, the grass grows like it's on steroids! So think: dog, long grass and things that can be hidden from view
So I set myself up, take a deep breath and fly into the air...and I am up...YAY! And then I am down. I give it a couple more tries and then take a break in child's pose. My heart is pumping and I am feeling on top of the world. I did it! Not for very long, but I got up there! And I feel on top of the world! At the age of 41 I can do handstand again...it's not pretty, mind you, but I got up there without the wall!

By this time in the podcast, we are to move back to our mats if we went to a wall and come into downdog. Now I mentioned how yoga is about letting go of ego...well, I let mine get the best of me. I decided I was going to do handstand again. I set myself up and flew in to the air...oh oh...abort, abort...this is not going as planned. Over I tumble and I land HARD. Once I get over the shock, I gingerly pick myself back up and take notice of the fact that I landed about an inch away from a lovely pile of doggie do-do that apparently was hiding in the freakishly long steroid grass that my husband likes to cultivate...hiding in wait for an innocent bystander to discover it's fragrant gift to the world. PHEW! That was a close one.

Dusting off my ego, I limp over to my mat to rejoin the podcast for savasana. I am now covered in dew and bits of grass, which apparently I have a slight itchy allergy to, and gratefully lie down on my cat hair infested mat. My cat, through all this, is lying peacefully beside my mat soaking up the sun. My dog is hanging out in the shade by the pool...oh the good life. I am sure they are thinking that I am crazy or maybe they were admiring my courage and strength, but to keep me humble have decided to fake nonchalance and ignore me...

Ahhhh savasana. I am itchy and sweaty and sore and trying to reconnect to my inner peace. The instructor in this podcast is talking about being grateful and making a list of 10 things you are grateful for. I smile at this because at that time I was grateful for the fact that I did not land in dog do-do.


Moral of the story: do not let your ego take over your mat. be courageous and strong, but mindful of your limits. Oh, and be aware of what you may or may not fall in to when you land:-) Know that when you try something new, you may not succeed the first time, but when you do it can be the best feeling in the world. Know that no matter how high you fly, you will always land on your feet (or your bum). It may not always be a graceful landing, but you had the courage to fly and that's what will embrace your spirit and help you soar even higher the next time.





Jake in the grass





Podcasts I love:
http://elsiesyogakula.com/
http://hillarysyogapractice.wordpress.com/
http://www.davefarmar.com/

Healthier recipe for Molten Lava Cake:
http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.com/2009/01/healthy-molten-chocolate-cake_10.html