Asana Room

Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana - One-legged King Pigeon Pose, one of the challenge poses that I love very much. The pose is simply gorgeous but it does take me some effort and time before I can come fully into this pose, as I think I've a pretty stiff back muscles. Backbending is somehow the most intimidating practice for me. My back is always sore especially lower back after practice. So I use heating pad and tiger balm occasionally to massage them (can't wait to go massage back home!!)

There are many preparatory poses to warm up before, here's one of the article giving a sequence of practices that I found great to follow. My current practice:



- The strap helps me to work on my hip flexors, upper arm stretching as well as opening up my chest



Now before I grab hold of my back bent foot, I use a strap to help working on the rotation of the arm. Step by step, slowly try with one hand, in this case right hand while placing left hand on the left thigh, then I reach out with my left hand to the strap, stretching both upper arms together. It's important to keep the pelvis square instead of tilting one side (may try placing a block or blanket underneath the left hip). To deepen the stretch, walk down the strap or foot thoughtfully, take a few deep breaths while staying in this pose.

Sometimes I can do better, sometimes I feel stiff, no matter what, just keep practicing with faith.

iherb.com

Yesterday I received my order from iherb finally, about 10 days which was not too bad. A friend recommended me this site where you can get all sort of natural and eko products (no animal testing; chemical & paraben free; suitable for vegans) ranging from health supplements to skin care and cosmetics, from great varieties of different brands. You can view all details and reviews of the products, it's nice where you can take your time to compare online at home. What's more, they are so much cheaper than the local stores. Those I purchased range from USD3-12. I only needed to pay USD6 for standard international airmail for weighing less than 4 lbs items, without paying any additional customs import tax.

However, there was 1 missing item in the package. They packed a "Nubian Heritage, African Black soap" (I thought it was a free sample for me lol), which turned out to be good after I checked out the product online and I'm gonna give it to my father to try. So I sent iherb a message about the missing item, wow how efficient they were. They replied me within 12 hrs that they have issued me a refund credit to my credit card, without deducting the price of the bar soap. How nice ;p

I highly recommend you to try iherb and I'm gonna continue buying other products from them too!

Raw Carob & Cashew Nut Cookies

Went to eko market to get this almond butter and carob powder (looks and tastes like mild cocoa powder, substitute for chocolate), this is one of the raw dessert recipes I found online which looked so good and easy.

Mixed the following ingredients in a food processor, leave the cashew nuts for a little bit chunky. If too dry, add a little water or almond butter, in this case I added tiny bit of squeezed orange juice but not too wet either – you want the dough to be firm and sticky enough to mold into cookies. Shape dough into cookies shapes or roll into balls. Store in the fridge after :) They add some honey & salt in the original recipe but I didn't use any and they taste sweet and good enough!

- 3/4 cup cashew nuts
- 1 tablespoon of Almond butter (Original recipe was cashew nut butter)
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup carob
- 4 dates

Why I used carob powder instead of chocolate? Here's some interesting facts by Dr. Michael T Murray (Naturopathic Medicine):

Although carob powder is somewhat bland compared to chocolate, carob improves upon chocolate in a number of beneficial ways:

• Carob is stimulant-free and requires no additional sweetening, while cocoa contains the potent caffeine-like stimulant, theobromine, and requires the addition of a sweetener - one reason why carob has only one third the calories of chocolate.
• Another is that carob is virtually fat-free. In contrast, even low-fat cocoa contains 8 g of fat per 100 g, and high-fat cocoa delivers a whopping 23.7 g of fat, much of it saturated, in 100 g.
• Both carob and low-fat cocoa powders are low in sodium and high in potassium-a desirable quality for individuals with high blood pressure or congestive heart failure, whereas cocoas with moderate to high fat content are often quite high in sodium since they are typically processed with an alkali to enable them to dissolve in water.
• Both carob and cocoa contain calcium, but carob provides twice the amount of calcium found in cocoa (290 mg in 100 g of carob versus 123 to 153 mg in 100 g of cocoa). Plus, unlike cocoa, carob contains no oxalic acid, which interferes with calcium absorption.
• Carob pods are also free of phenylethylamines, small nitrogen-containing molecules found in chocolate that, in susceptible individuals, can trigger migraines.
• Also unlike cocoa, carob powder is high in protein and rich in fiber, particularly pectin.

Get to know more about food additives

One day I bought home a canned organic coconut milk without checking the labelled ingredients. Only after I saw there's "E412" in it, I was aware earlier about these E number things but never really paid attention on them (what an ignorant fool I was). So I googled on the code, it turned out to be a rather safer kind of food additives in the list, a guar gum.

From there I started browsing on other codes and found some familiar food additives which I had consumed always earlier, they were indeed bad for our health. Many of them are not only linked to hyperactivity and asthma, but cancer as well!! And I read on, found out more about other food additives that we should all avoid.

There's this instant noodle which I really loved, the korean spicy shin ramen, I would buy twice a month. So I checked on the ingredients and found this so-called "flavor enhancer" - E621 in it. From the food additive code breaker list, E621=MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is not permitted in foods for infants and young children. Similarly, it is reported that they cause many side-effects for our health such as: Headache, sometimes called MSG headache, chest pain, sweating, sense of facial pressure or tightness etc. From then on, I stopped buying it!
After researched online further, I noticed MSG are found in a lot of the food provided by the fast food chains. So if you are a fans of McDonald's or KFC, or others, please take your time to do some research online and you will find out more about the hidden truth.

Our government is sure well aware of these but they would not be banned from the market because they share the profits from the corporate food manufacturing as well!

I've printed out a handful size of the food additive codes list to bring it with me whenever I do food/grocery shopping so I can always check on them.

Check out this youtube video and an interesting blog on "why we've decided to stop buying food from supermarkets..." Better be a smart and healthy consumer now than too late later. You are what you eat!

A relaxed sunny Saturday

It's been a pretty busy week for me even though there's less yoga classes now because of summer's starting. Sun's been shining bright these days and more and more people are engaging themselves in outdoor activities.

Things I did for the day:
6am-7am: Got up from bed - shower - books reading - meditation & prayer
7am-730am: some warm up exercises & stretching
730am-930am: breakfast, online & emailing, organizing schedules for July in KL & Shanghai
945am: Left home for the following yoga classes
1115am-1210pm - Astanga yoga
1245pm-2pm - Restorative yoga
3-4pm: grocery shopping while waiting for Jani's last class
430pm: Took a walk at a park nearby then home
530pm-730pm: Had early dinner - some houseworks - worked online again
8pm: Dessert of the night - my all-time favourite: frozen bananas (mixed with coconut milk and ate with pineapples) Yummy!

Frozen bananas with blueberries
Frozen bananas with mixed fruits

Almost time to bed...tomorrow will be another long but blessed and productive day :)

Asana room

Paschimottanasana - Seated forward bend is one of the asanas that I've been working on constantly. My biggest obstacle for now is my left side tight hamstring (yes I've imbalance flexibility in my legs where my left leg tends to be more stiff because I had always focused on the right leg only in my dance practice back in the old days).

My current practice:
(i) To begin with both legs straight in front of you, inhale raise the arms up while at the same time lengthening my spine, press the thighs down into the floor and actively through the heels.

(ii) Keeping the torso long, exhale lean forward slowly from the hip joints (not the waist as this would curl your back), lengthen the tailbone to the floor.

(iii) A strap is useful in correcting and strengthening the alignment. Alternatively I would hold my ankles with elbow down on the shinbone, with each inhalation lift and lengthen the front torso bit by bit, and each exhalation fold forward a little more.

I always feel the tightness of my left hamstring whenever I lengthen my torso, it is quite uneasy sensation yet it is what signals me to practice with patience. So I make it to flow better and immersing myself in the asana with slow and deep breath.

It is not yet a perfect paschimottanasana, but I believe eventually I will be able to stretch my arms out beyond the feet on the floor :)

Oh the benefits of paschimottanasana? Check this out:

• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
• Stretches the spine, shoulders, hamstrings
• Stimulates the liver, kidneys, ovaries, and uterus
• Improves digestion
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause and menstrual discomfort
• Soothes headache and anxiety and reduces fatigue
• Therapeutic for high blood pressure, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis
• Traditional texts say that Paschimottanasana increases appetite, reduces obesity, and cures diseases.

Raw fruit-n-nut balls!

As I had been baking breads and muffins, Jani asked when I'm gonna make something that's edible for him too (he's a raw vegan), I know I have always wanted to make this raw cake but I just haven't had the chance to get all the ingredients complete and they take much work. So he was suggesting this "fruit and nut balls", immediately I googled its recipe, bingo! Simple and easy! What's more, it's oil-free and you don't need any oven but a blender with a pulse function.

I managed to roll 20 balls out of these ingredients:
- 150g almond nuts (I tried hazelnuts too, both are equally good!)
- 5-6 dried apricots
- 5 pitted dates
- fresh squeezed orange juice (half an orange)
- dessicated coconut with cinnamon powder (prepare in a separate bowl for tossing the balls)

I first pulsed the nuts and apricots, then gradually added in the pitted dates until they were evenly together, which would look something like this.
After added in the fresh squeezed orange juice, that's when they would appear moist and stick together.

I made sure my hands were clean before started rolling them and tossed them in the bowl of cinnamon coconut. I stored them in refrigerator for a while before tasting them.

I looove this fruit-n-nut balls!! I don't usually take sweet stuff (except ice-cream and chocolate ahem ;p). They may look simple and ordinary, but trust me, there's more to offer what's underneath, just one bite on them, they are simply irresistible!

What about my yoga?

I know I haven't blogged much about yoga so far even though it dominates my blog title. So here I'm gonna write something about my own yoga background in Q&A form...

How did you first come to yoga?
I had heard of yoga looong time ago, back in the teenagers time where my mom was practicing it too (it wasn't a "trend" yet back then). I still remember I saw my mom practicing downward dog at home. Needless to say I wasn't interested in it at all. Then in my late 20s, the gym that I always went to had some yoga classes regularly, which were always packed with people, so I thought I just joined and tried for fun. During the class, I couldn't understand why they kept repeating the sun salutations and I actually couldn't wait for the class to finish. I was pretty much a hyper person so I was more into intensive aerobic classes instead of the boring, slow "stretching" routines.
Until end of 2009 where I was experiencing a period of despairing times, I was pushed to shift my focus from external to internal, engaging myself in self-reflection, seeking for inner peace and eventually exploring more about spirituality, getting connected with God again. Thanks God for His mercy in leading me, from there I started doing yoga again, but with a totally renewed heart and mind.

What does yoga mean to you? What do you love about yoga?
To me yoga is a path of enlightenment to the body, mind and soul. Spiritually, it leads me to self-realization and connect with God as well.
Yoga has a very long history. I've been reading and learning about it everyday but they never cease to amaze me with their vast unquenchable knowledge from the ancient times. And it's through the practice of yoga I get to see myself better, in terms of my bodily capability and mental strength.

Do you have any challenges in your own practice?
For now it is the muscles stiffness and soreness especially my hamstrings and lower back that I'm dealing with everyday despite my regular practice. The stiffness would just come back again even 1 hour later after my practice. I'm not sure if it's the cold weather or other factors. So I've to redo all warm-up every time before I start my next practice in the same day.

Who's inspired your practice? People? Books?
Jani who's my fiance as well as my mentor, he practices every morning before dawn for 2 hours and then another hour in the afternoon EVERYDAY for over 10 years. His determination and devotion in yoga has always empowered me in one way or another.
Books such as BKS Iyengar's Light on Life and Tree of Yoga, Hatha Yoga Pradipika all have broadened the horizon of my understanding about yoga and its philosophy. And I know there's much more to this...

Tips I would tell my friends who's just starting yoga or a practice?
There's never "too late" in anything if you want to do something. Just get yourself started, then stick with it, practice daily with patience and perseverance, challenge yourself instead of others knowing that the greatest enemy is yourself.

Muffins

I love pastry but most of the pastries available in the cafe outside are made with egg, which I don't take in my diet now. Thanks to Kurma dasa's recipes, with his simple ingredients, I managed to make these muffins which are just equally good as those outside in the market ;p

*Ingredients:
- raw sugar
- wholemeal flour
- mixed dried fruit (I added raisins too, or you can add any other fruits to your likings)
- wheat bran
- cold milk
- melted butter
- golden syrup (I don't have it but it's sweet enough)
- water
- baking soda

It took me only 35 mins of overall preparation and baking time, they will be my snacks for these 2 days :)

My first plant!

No they are not my plants, but some living veges I bought from a local supermarket, the basil, lettuce and parsley for my cooking. They are available in package forms (not living) too but I opted for this - fresher and better.

I have been using them quite often in preparing food, so I thought it would be better if I plant them at home myself. I bought a pot and basil seeds, it's my ever first attempt in planting. Honestly, I wasn't really expecting anything would come out from the seeds because I thought it involved more work than what I did in planting.

It took only 4 days when the seeds started growing, the moment I saw the tiny little leafy on the pot (1st picture below), I was so amazed and excited (I couldn't imagine how overwhelmed a mother feels who delivers a baby)!! From then on, I keep my eyes on the pot everyday after I get up. Another 3 days later, they grow up so much quickly!
What a wonderful new birth of life, the gift of God!

Sugar & Salt

I think most of us never bother much what kind of sugar or salt we are using, that was for me at least. Back home I was accustomed to using white sugar and table salt (both refined) which are most widely used presently in every household.

Ever since I started as a mindful eater, I learn about the better and natural health-promoting choices made available to us. So when it comes to choosing sugar, raw sugar is the best choice compared to white sugar and brown sugar.

Why raw sugar?
- Unrefined raw sugar which has a natural tan color to it, is made from the juice from the sugar cane plant. It contains minerals and nutrients that are stripped from refined white sugar and regular brown sugar which include Phosphorus, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium.
Today, it is common knowledge that refined white sugar has devastating affects on the body and health in general. They contain no fiber, no minerals, no proteins, no fats, no enzymes, only empty calories.

...Dr. David Reuben, author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nutrition says, “…white refined sugar-is not a food. It is a pure chemical extracted from plant sources, purer in fact than cocaine, which it resembles in many ways. Its true name is sucrose and its chemical formula is C12H22O11.

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Today's table or cooking salt is actually 97.5% sodium chloride and 2.5% chemicals such as moisture absorbents, and iodine after being refined or "chemically cleaned". These components of salt are, by themselves potentially dangerous.

Studies by the Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin have shown* that blood pressure is not increased by a high sodium intake unless it is accompanied by chloride. Common table salt being sodium chloride, therefore, actually destroys life rather than sustains it as we are led to believe. Are you addicted to certain foods because they appear to taste so good? Well, they may be loaded with common table salt.

In view of this, a better choice would be the sea salt or Himalayan rock salt, which I'm using currently. Himalayan salt contains all the minerals and trace elements of which our bodies are made. It has no preservatives or additives.
It is said it helps to balance the body's pH levels, and can lead to significant positive changes to respiratory, circulatory and nervous system functions amongst others.

A good rule of thumb, anytime you can eat whole foods over processed foods do it.

*Kotchen, TA and Kotchen, JM: Dietary sodium and blood pressure: interactions with other nutrients. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 65, 708S-711S, 1997.

Dog masseuse?

Somehow I was landed with a part time job now - a dog masseuse! One of Jani's friends who happened to buy a new dog (HUGE dog, pics to be taken next time), she was asking Jani if he could give the dog massage once a week, but he always has this hygiene concern from pets, that's how the job was passed to me. Of course, I was more than happy to accept it!

I did check out some dog massage videos online, trying to learn a few tips. It's not that difficult after all. Last night was my first time massaging the dog officially. I love dogs, preferably smaller size though, and this one is almost as big as a bear! Despite his large body, he was gentle and calm during the massage, but too much saliva which I always tried to avoid.

It was only a 30-min massage, and I was paid 30 euros for it! I would still do it even if it's in Malaysia currency ;p

Belly dance class

Current temperature: 10c, partly cloudy

I went to my first belly dance (they call it oriental dance here) class here in Helsinki 2 days ago, finally. I found this El Hosseny dance school online before I arrived in Finland. After visited their classes 2 times last month, I decided to join them.

It was Tuija's class that I joined, a small class of around 7 of us (from age 20s to 50s), I like it small group which in that way the instructor could focus and pay attention to you more. It's between beginner and intermediate level, yet most of them have been doing it for few years, needless to say they are good! And they are already doing a choreography since January where they are gonna perform for a summer show in June. It's quite a different style from what I had been learning back home, a lot of techniques I need to brush up as I'm so rusty!

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As for yoga class, it will be Ashtanga yoga later evening with Jani. Basically I do 5 days a week of 75-min ashtanga. It's pretty an intense practice for me as ashtanga involves a lot of dynamic poses and vinyasa. Now it's almost the practice time for my own. I'll share more later...

Tomato rice with herbs

2pm ~

Just had my lunch, I was craving for something sweet & sour with rice today, but instead of just frying food with the bottled tomato sauce, which I had always used back home as they were easy and ready instantly, I tried out something new and different today, recipe by Kurma dasa* - tomato rice with herbs!

Preparation time: 5 mins Cooking time: 25-35 mins

1. Wash, drain and dry the rice
2. Bring the water, salt, paprika, tomato paste (I blended 1 tomato) and basil slowly to a boil.
3. In the mean time, heat 1 tbsp of ghee (indian butter oil or you can use butter) over a pan, saute the asafoetida powder (my substitute for garlic & onion, so it can be vice versa for you) in the hot ghee. Add the rice and stir-fry for about 2 mins.
4. Pour the rice into the boiling water. Stir and bring the water to a full boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 15-20 mins or until the water has been absorbed.

As for the sweet taste, I cooked sweet potatoes (one of my favourites) and yellow bell pepper as my side dish for the rice. I was happy and satisfied with it :)

* Kurma dasa was head chef at Melbourne's most popular Vegetarian Restaurant, Gopal's for ten years, and is the author of 'Great Vegetarian Dishes' (which is in its eleventh print run), 'Cooking With Kurma', 'Quick Vegetarian Dishes', and most recently 'Vegetarian World Food'. All books have received wide acclaim for their professional, clearly written and richly illustrated presentation of vegetarian cuisine.

Homey day

Temperature right now: 7c, cloudy
It's been chilly again these few days, weather forecast the warmer sunny days will be up from this Friday over the weekend 12-16c.

On a Tuesday like today, I usually have longer break for myself as Jani is out for work the whole day in central (where we don't need to drive) and I only join him in the evening. I still have about 3 hours plus before I leave home, if I am to join the belly dance class. I've been dragging for few weeks now, can't decide which day of the week to join, most likely I'm gonna start today.

Activities for the evening:
- yoga practice at home
- belly dance class
- swim & sauna at gym

Finnish bread

I have seen many different kinds of breads at the local supermarkets here but I never really looked into them (not a superfans of breads except pastries!). I have only tasted one (bought it as my snack), the Rye bread(ruisleipä) - dark, a little sour taste and the most popular type in Finland. This whole-grain Finnish rye bread is extremely healthy and rich in fibre, and it also distinguishes it from rye bread made in other countries.

Today while cooking lunch at home, Jani decided to make me some finnish breads called - Rieska :) And guess what? Neither flour nor baking soda was used but only the following main ingredients:
- oats
- sunflower seeds
- flaxseed powder
- turmeric
- himalayan rock salt
- fat-free buttermilk

Mix all of them in a bowl and spread it out into any shape you want in an oven tray, heat it under 220c for 10-15 mins until the texture turns a bit harder. You may add in any other flavours that you like, to make it sweet or salty. I added cheese with it in the end, it was good!

I love the tender texture of it and it took less than 30 mins of cooking time, simple and easy!

By the way, here's salad with quinoa and steamed asparagus for Jani. He loves seaweed so he rolled some salad with it as well.

1st entry

5:46pm
So...here it comes my blog, after taking some time to name the blog title as well as the URL name.

I'm not really a creative writer, which explains why I enjoy more reading others' blogs. However, there are times when I do wanna share with others of my thoughts or what I do, I guess it doesn't matter even if I don't write elegantly ;p

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9pm
Just home from Mysore* practice, felt energetic and good! More people turned up today even though it was cold.

*Mysore: A self-led variation of Ashtanga yoga, done without a teacher calling out the poses. Students practice at their own pace and level of ability, but in the company of other students and with the encouragement and advice of a teacher as needed. The name Mysore comes from the city in India where Ashtanga yoga guru Shri K. Pattabhi Jois lives and teaches. (definition extracted from yoga.about.com)