Lotus Candle Poetry

"Love is a special closeness
That sings from the heart
That warms my days and nights
That feels good
That makes me smile
That makes me glad
To be,
alive"
-Richard Cohn

Harvest Full Moon

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Welcome. 
I invite you to sit comfortably and quietly for a moment.
Feel your feet on the ground or your sits bones resting on the earth.
Deep inhale and deep exhale.
And again.
Hands on heart, breathe again deeply into this inner space.
Straightening your spine, feel the connection to the heavens above your head.

You are here. 
You are alive.
You are present.
You are enough.

Deep inhale and deep exhale.
And again.

And continuing to breath deeply and inwardly, ask yourself: "what is it that I am ready to let go of this autumn?  What relationships, beliefs, activities, behaviors, dreams, projects are no longer serving me?  And how does it make me feel to let that go?"

One of my favorite authors, Sara Avant Stover describes this season perfectly: 

"Now's the time to reap the benefits from the past six months and appreciate all the ways you've grown and flowered.  It's time to start spending more time alone to see how those outward expansions translate to your inner spiritual and creative life.  What's essential?  What will you take with you into the dreamtime of the winter, and what will you leave behind?"

The nature of warm, long, bright, sunny days of summer lead to an energy of celebration, frolicking, and a playfulness.  As the leaves begin to change, the air starts to feel cool, and the trees soon shed in prep for winter, we may feel grief in this feeling of loss.  Of letting go.  Of moving into a more dark, quiet, contemplative place.  Where is there resistance for you?  What still needs to be acknowledged and celebrated, before it can be released?  Or maybe you are so ready for this time of year!  Maybe there are things you feel so ready to release and burn and no longer carry with you.  Hurrah!  Burn baby burn!  No longer needed here!

Here's another quote to ponder from MysticMamma website written by Cathy Pagano: 

“…We are being asked to make a choice.  Will we continue with our old ways of being in the world or will we trust our hearts to know the truth, so that our minds can listen and find us a way through the darkness to a new dawn?”

I saw this spare wheel cover on a Jeep in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn and it made my wild woman heart sing….er…. HOWL! 

In spirit of the season, I'm going to open up myself to vulnerability and share what I am letting go of on this Harvest Full Moon.  This full moon, I am letting go of the fear of making a mess.

…what if I lead a woman's circle and only one person shows up (the exact person who needs it the most - perfect!) or enter a Strong(wo)man contest and can't even lift the weight off the ground (a little embarrassing but think of the stories I could tell!) or teach a cooking class where I burn the food, or worse, it tastes bland ("Do as I say, not as I do!").

Or what if I lead a woman's circle and a whole tribe of women show up and want another one next month too….or I enter a Strong(wo)man contest and hit PRs in some of the events or teach a cooking class that's inspiring and orgasmically delicious...

I won't know unless I try.  And either outcome is totally perfect!  

Marianne Williamson said it best: 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Can I get a hell yes?!

So, dear ones, I invite you to release with me the things that are no longer serving us and our ability to be our best self.  And maybe my best self gets her shine on with a little glorious, earthy mud on her face and a few mistakes she can laugh about.  

"Intend to shine." -Danielle LaPorte

Blaze on beautiful beings!

Saturday Mornings are for (Protein) Pancakes

Confession: I have been OBSESSED for WEEKS with this protein pancake recipe I found following one of my Instagram inspirations @jazzythings.  (You can also follow her on Facebook - she is so down to earth, positive, silly, and she makes living healthy/happy look EASY!)  And it is time I share this gem!

DOUBLE CONFESSION!  Being a diabetic, I used to be a carb-a-phobe (is that a real word?…….).  I thought carbs were evil and I should never, ever let a crumb of carbohydrate pass my lips or else deem myself a very bad person (and a horrible diabetic at that!).  

I have changed that way of thinking (thanks again to experimenting with what my body NEEDS and inspiration from MY coach Daniel Buron).  As I have begun to increase the heaviness of my weightlifting program, I have found that, in order to have energy to hoist iron around with the best of them, I need to have some carbs with my protein to keep up my stamina.  Now, having said that, I'm not going out and eating tons of pasta or candy bars or pizza (which I admit does sound delicious).  I try to stick to a gluten free lifestyle since that's what makes my gut feel happy, so it's oats, quinoa, brown rice, beans, millet, sweet potatoes… and not huge servings either because I don't like having to give myself tooooo much insulin to cover.  

So…. back on topic…. since redeeming carbs back to glory in my eyes, I started craving pancakes on a Saturday morning to go with my coffee (TRIPLE CONFESSION: even as a health enthusiast, I love my coffee.  I've tried to "give it up", but it brings such pleasure to my life, I decided it was worth the caffeine intake to still enjoy the ritual… at least for now).  Saturday morning pancakes reminded me of pastimes of childhood weekend meals where we had time to pull out the griddle and whip up a batch of buttermilk pannie-cakes since we weren't running off to school!  Trying to also increase the amount of protein in each meal, I went on a search to find a way to make my pancakes healthy.

And thanks to JazzyThings, I found one that I love!  And guess what?!?!  It's only THREE ingredients (plus whatever spices you want to jazz it up with)!  It's super easy and, with a little practice and playing around, you'll have it down to a science in no time and can even have pancakes during the work week (I could eat them all week, sometimes for dinner!)  Here's the basic recipe, but I'll include some helpful tips that I've found through trial and error:

Jazzy Things Protein Pancakes:
Ingredients: 
*1/2 cup of rolled oats
*scoop of protein powder
*about 1/4 cup of milk (I use almond milk and I always add an extra splash)

Place all ingredients in a blender and combine until batter is thoroughly mixed.  Set griddle (200ish degrees) or pan to low heat (around the 2-3 option on your burner), pour pancake mix, and cook slowly til golden brown.  Top with butter, syrup, or nut butter and enjoy!

 

Helpful hints:

*I like to use a small frying pan (see picture above) as opposed to a griddle, because I find making the batter a little more runny helps it to mix in my ninja single serve blender better.  With the pan, it doesn't matter if it's runny, because I can just pour the whole thing in and it goes to the edge of the pan making a perfectly round pancake.  

*I use my single serve ninja blender.  It's convenient and it makes the perfect size for a filling pancake.  Then clean-up is easy peasy since I wash it while the 'cake is bakin'.  But any type of blender will work great as long as the "blender" is not your hand and a spoon. ha!  (Ya gots to chop up those oats!)

*The type of protein powder you use will determine the flavor and the amount of milk you will need.  My favorite powder for this recip is Tera's Whey Organic Vanilla Bourbon because the flavor is amazing!  I even made an extra one to eat cold with peanut butter for lunch at work.

I've also tried it with an unflavored BiPro whey and then added cinnamon and also taste-tested a chocolate whey pancake, both of which were pretty good.  This is where you really could get creative with flavorings and spices.  Maybe a little pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, vanilla extract, almond extract, stevia for a little sweetness….the sky's the limit!

For those of you who opt out of whey proteins because of intolerances/allergies, I made this with a plant based chocolate protein powder, but had to add more milk because it was too thick and also added a splash of vanilla extract and a 1/2 tbsp of Trader Joe's unsweetened cocoa powder to make the plant protein more palatable.  

I think the big key here is to play around with flavors and consistencies.  It took me a few tries and ended up with some crumbles instead of pancakes.  But don't be shy!  I would recommend checking out Jazzy Thing's Facebook page here as she has awesome flavor combinations (and other great recipes), if you want to get fancy with flavored protein powders.

Let me know if you try out this recipe and how it goes for you!  I'm always looking for ways to mix it up or helpful tips.  Happy Saturday! 

Fall's a-comin'!

MN State Fair is underway (an annual sign that the summer's end is looming)... September is next week (say what?!).... And the kiddos are getting ready to get back to school (I have a nerdy love for new notebooks and writing utensils!).  As we start to see the slow change in seasons, summer BBQs and cold salads start to transition to cravings for soups and hearty dishes as our bodies begin to prep a little extra insulation and seek nourishment for the colder months ahead.  To honor and align with this seasonal change, I want to offer guidance and assistance for you and your body (as we all know, fall leads into holiday season of treats and feasts galore!).  Let me know if having a health coach would be helpful for you to reach (or maintain) your goals.  As this is a new fall program, I have awesome low rates for sessions and want to make it affordable for you, because feeling healthy is so important!  Email Helen.buron@gmail.com