happy halloween

the leaves have changed

happy halloween! i apologize for the lack of commitment to my blog. i'm constantly jotting down ideas or making recipes, but i haven't found the time to post. my camera has also been MIA when the perfect opportunities for friendly eating arise. thats okay though, i love when things happen naturally and being completely present in the moment.

after a few excuses i have one more, i've been shifting a lot of my eating (always vegan) by balancing out a lot more cooked foods and it's honestly been a long time since i've cooked. some of the recipes that i've been making have been hit or miss, and i'm a firm believer of taste testing all recipes and only if it's good will i feel compelled to blog about it. needless to say, i have had some off recipes, but thats okay cooking is a practice, and with practice you get better each day.

i feel like if i keep posting pictures of food it would be boring, i've been eating lots of salads, oatmeal, sandwiches, raw fruits and veggies. life has been throwing me a lot of curve balls. i've been busy with school and working full time so although i always maintain a healthy diet it's not always that interesting.

my furby costume

halloween weekend was fun. now were entering november. it's pretty odd to me that it hasn't snowed in colorado yet. when we were kids, we based our costumes around our winter coats. i'll take the warm weather though!

teacher training

teacher training

as i've said before i'm in teacher training to become a yoga instructor. three days a week for four hours i come together with fifteen individuals to learn and deepen our practice in yoga. it's amazing how much it's changed my life, for the better. there are so many new avenues for me to explore and so much inspiration that i have gained. to come together with complete strangers and make strong friendships is vibrant. sharing this gift of knowledge has given me beautiful light and i'm so grateful.

green smoothies for lunch

this past weekend we arrived at our halfway point to our training becoming completed. it's been really intense. there's been a lot of information passed down to us in a very quick setting. we've had some emotional moments and very eye opening experiences.

i learned to take it easy. which is hard for me. i tend to always move forward not being completely mindful of the present moment. it's not necessarily a bad thing, but i tend to go overboard at times. i had to really listen to myself the last two weeks and what i found was quite interesting.

windy days and rainy nights

the universe told me to take a break and it rewarded me. the reward materialized in prescription ray bans i lost a month ago, time with old friends as well as new ones and the ability to internalize the present moment. to really listen and enjoy what is around me and to give my undivided attention to my adventure.

it's funny how far we let out minds travel, when we have everything we need right in front of us.

breakfast time

our planet makes such beautiful food

without a doubt my favorite time of the day is breakfast time. it's a time in the morning (sometimes later) when we get to fuel ourselves for a journey out into the world. this week has been a good example of what i wanted to eat, what i needed to eat, and when i'm out the door and eating.

what i wanted:

gluten free pancake breakfast at watercourse after a 3 mile run with friends

what i needed:

breakfast salad with avocado, banana and romaine.

dressed with blood orange juice and coconut.

when i'm out the door:

morning pick me up

(makes 2 16oz servings)

28oz distilled water

1 cup chopped and frozen pineapple

2-3 bananas chopped and frozen

1 large handful of kale

1 heaping tablespoon of raw hemp seeds

1/4 teaspoon red cayenne chili flakes

drizzle of raw agave nectar (optional)

pinch of pink himalayan sea salt

Blend all of the ingredients together. Enjoy!

what we are made of

today i ventured to a cadaver lab for my yoga teacher training . the overall experience was extremely dynamic for the four hours we spent at the lab.

from the time we announced we were going to the lab and when we physically got there i had a few different feelings about it. at first i was excited to have the opportunity to study the cadavers and to get a deeper understanding of what we are using everyday. for people in my group i think a lot were hesitant towards the 'death' aspect of it all.. i mean no one really wants to be faced with their mortality, but in retrospect of our training yoga is the science of death. it prepares us to move on in this world to not be attached to the vessel we are apart of. when we got to the location i was a bit anxious (not nervous) to see how it all unfolded.

the man who was leading us through our experience was a wealth of information, you could clearly tell he was purely passionate about what was in front of us and that in itself was a positive experience. he guided us through slowly which was great because to be honest, i wasn't ready to see body parts exposed. he took it from bones to the outer most layer of the body. it was overwhelming at times, but i gained a greater awareness of how amazing our insides are.

how important it is for us to have movement in our life and to eat healthy just resonated a lot more clearly to me today. i practice yoga quite frequently, pretty active and eat a well balanced diet, but sometimes the idea of 'being healthy' only rings surface level. truly it's important. today i saw where our bones can break, or where are muscles could bruise, or ligaments rip. with that greater self awareness and base of anatomy i am a lot more interested in learning more not only about the human body, but where i am physically and how i move through this world.

when the class was coming to an end one of the last things we got to interact with was the heart. how fascinating it was to see all the chambers and vessels it contained. to hold something so beautiful (and know it's power) allowed me to have a greater connection to what's inside of me and that was a vibrant perspective to take home. i'm generally a man of many words, and the car ride home was relatively silent..

the main cadaver was a 70+ male utah resident who had lung cancer. obviously i'm not attached to the story, but it in my head i couldn't help, but think of a person who used to be attached to this body. although i've never met this cadaver, or even got to see a face he taught me a lot about myself and i think thats what is the most important thing about the experience is. this person dedicated their body to science, and knew it would be for the greater good. in a way it showed me that he wasn't attached to his body, and that he was ready to move on and thats what life is about.

i guess death is relative (maybe even that it doesn't exist). the energy from our remaining body transfers into something else on this planet. i guess you could say that "death" is the movement of life.

room to grow

goofy post yoga glow

we all need to laugh a little. and at ourselves is what i mean. in the last few yoga classes i found myself intently focused on postures (heavy face) that i wanted to go deeper into, and when i fell out of them (literally on my butt) all i could do is laugh! it's such a great feeling. to just laugh out loud and reset our mind. my philosophy is: if you can't laugh at yourself, then you are taking life to seriously.

we internalize so much crap in our daily life, sometimes it's hard to find laughter or happiness inside of ourselves. all of the built up stress and self conscious, where does it go? all i can say is nowhere safe if it never comes out. i think when we can just smile at things that drive us crazy we are able to let go of so much pressure we build up. how simple of an exercise. but it works! it's hard work to get to that point though. breathing and a little patience go along way.

with that said, we have to be patient with ourselves. to give ourselves the time to grow and to learn our own lessons. i find that we can ruin progress simply by wanting more, or rushing to get to our 'finishing' points. there is no finish. everyday is a new day, and a new set of challenges. the challenges that move us emotionally, align our passions or give us the room to grow into better versions of ourselves. we have to acknowledge our progress in the present moment first though.☺

gt's synergy: trilogy and sale produce!

after leaving yoga this early morning, i rode over to work early and had a bit of breakfast. gt's kombucha finally came back into the stores here in denver! i really love this product it always has the perfect amount of flavor and carbonation.

this was not part of my day, but i've been making these yummy shakes when i've been craving chocolate. which has been a lot... this shake is not to disappoint. it's so creamy and delicious. i love it when it gets a little frothy at the top. ☺

banana cinnamon shake

(makes 2 16oz servings)

4-5 frozen and chopped bananas

28 oz distilled water

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

1 heaping tablespoon raw hemp seeds or chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of pink himalayan sea salt

blend all of the ingredients together and enjoy!

wierd feelings

a beautiful drive in the mountains this past summer

the past few days have been a very emotional and weird. i've been broke, abnormally broke and what i mean is like counting out loose change and paying in nickels and dimes. i know people my age and a well a large majority of people live paycheck to paycheck, but i generally always make sure i don't spend what i don't have. i guess that didn't ring true this time around. but through all of this i noticed something about myself and where my commitments are: health and happiness. throughout this week it's been a test of strength to get to that paycheck and a lot of challenging questions were put in my path:

- do i maintain the same diet?

- will i stress about the source of money?

- what do i want to do (in my life) from here?

what i found was answers to all of these questions.

coconut curry soup with tempeh

did i maintain the same healthy diet as i started. yes! absolutely. it's actually cheap and quite rewarding to find out how resourceful you are when you are low in cash. even though i think i've eaten enough $1 kale to last a lifetime, i still managed to have green smoothies for breakfast, salads for lunch and some really awesome cooked meals for dinner. lately i've been mixing up my raw ratio which is what my body needs, and i'm totally fine with that.

music is good medicine for stress

did i stress out about the source of money? yes and no. I did at first, and I got a little worried if things were going to go through (bills). The second I stopped putting to much emotional involvement and realized what was important and what I was grateful for money sources started to trickle in. Although, it wasn't a paycheck I found it was that friends were helping me and i was still able to maintain a consistent schedule of yoga, teacher training, practicing ukulele and everyday life without being frazzled. how small amounts of money in your bank account brings focus to the big things in your life. friendship and family.

what do i want to do from here? i stopped and wondered about that several times throughout the week. what was this want to see the future and how i was going to get there? i feel that a lot of it was external things and being surrounded by people i love who are out doing things they need for themselves. it reflected something i wanted. i wanted to find this plan or goal, but what i forgot in the midst of all that was what i was trying to accomplish on my daily level. i tell you did "be present" come knocking at my door... i was allowing a lot of my emotions to slip in the cracks of life. it's not fun! but it happens! it was a good reminder to take control of how i feel and realize i'm perfect where i'm at and now is the time grow.

but with all of these questions answered i really started to see a trend. in these three questions i saw a person who wanted to change the world. someone who is driven by their passions and won't allow money amounts to get them there. someone who can dream and is inspired by life. i found out that that person is me, and that i can be resourceful and ask for help when it's needed.

'the honey trap' burned to that ground at burning man '10

(photo taken by leah rich)

in the spirit of weird feelings i want to say that the transient self inside of me has awakened after my time at burning man and all of the spiritual epiphanies i've had this year. i'm ready to be present everyday until i adventure. where life takes me i don't know, but i want to celebrate who i am and what i do, and cherish the time and space where i'm at. i definitely have to say i'm ready to move on from my current pace and embark on something completely new! i don't know yet, but i'm sure an opportunity will present itself if my doors are open.

flow

i love it when piper brings me raw chocolate treats on my lunch break

i realized something important today. and that is my ability to stay patient when there are stressful situations arising. also my ability to be patient when i have to deal with tons of impatient people that pass through my job as a cashier.

i can't believe how much i've changed in this past year. the fact that i'm self aware of my feelings and emotions is a sign of growth. i'm able to adapt to situations and freely move throughout my day without well any complaints. for me, life is to short to complain, well about the little things at least. i guess i like to save my energy for things that really matter. ☺

i don't ever try to assume anything, especially about people i don't know, but working with the public i see a tremendous amount of people who just give off the "i'm not feeling my life" vibe. it's not that it makes me happy when i see people who look sad or depressed, it's that it makes me appreciate my happiness because it comes from a genuine place and its fueled by my passions in life.

cutting up sweet potatoes

i chose to roast some delicious vegetables and eat them over some raw kale (5 for $5, can't beat that!) that was massaged with raw agave nectar and coconut vinegar. so delicious and filling. my oh my i love fall food.

roasted tempeh, walnuts, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, shallots and apples.

how simple, and the best of both worlds (raw and cooked). sometimes we need to eat cooked meals to cool down the raw vibrations at night. ☺one thing i tried to eliminate this year has been soy products. which has been relatively easy. occasionally i'll eat some tofu, but tempeh is my go to if i ever crave things like that. tempeh is a nutritious fermented soy product and contains high amounts of protein, manganese, and vitamin b2.

local cold pressed apple juice

normally i don't drink to many fruit juices, but i was craving some and didn't want to deny my body the want for apple juice. big b's fabulous is local to colorado, organic, unpasteurized, cold pressed and only two ingredients: apples and well apples! i like to treat myself because we always made hot apple cider with this particular brand when we were kids.

the best side to look at things

i guess i just go with the flow. there is always a bright side in life and most of the time you don't have to look for it. i find that it's generally right in front of you.

busy

jammin' at the light rail station

happy autumn! these are my favorite months in colorado. the days are warm, the nights are a bit chilly and the leaves are scattered everywhere. i really enjoy when the seasons change because it allows us to move from the attachments we've made in the previous one. ☺

one thing i wanted to talk about is community. how important it is for us to be connected to one is unexplainable. we can come together to share, to create, and above all to love. sometimes in life when you least expect it, you find yourself in a room with passionate people all uniting to one mindset: to learn new things and to share it. for me in this moment it is my yoga teacher training. it has been so vibrant and changed my practice tremendously. in the few classes i've attended i've not only gone deeper behind the scenes with yoga, but i've gotten a broader sense of myself. how i communicate to people, how i want to create in this world and share my love.

the feeling i get when i step onto the mat is just amazing. i've never been so sure about something in my life. the amount of self awareness i've received from this practice is just so above and beyond. in my heart i know i'm on the right path, and at this point thats all i need to know. it feels good to live presently and consciously.

kale, avocado and cherry tomato salad

at the light rail stop i enjoyed a kale salad, raw trail mix, delicious fall apples and good tunes. while i was waiting for it to pick me up a few things came up in my head:

- organize my apartment, and get rid of clutter

- maintain raw food options in the colder months

- continue to eat how my body wants

- read more books

- make my own bath and body products

- keep practicing ukulele

- try to go to one yoga class a day

- run a few days a week

- make sweet potato fudge this week

- roast all my favorite fall veggies

- learn more gluten free recipes

during the chilly scooter ride home from teacher training i realized i was part of something awesome. i am part of a community (friends and family) that is driven by their passions, good food and know how to love. i get to learn and laugh everyday and for me thats the two simplest ways to enjoy life.