“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself.  Aloud.”
–Coco Chanel

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been thinking a lot about “stuff” recently.  I have a lot of stuff and I love all of it.  Between us Himself and I have over 1000 CDs. I have more clothes than I should, most of them black and most of them very similar.  And no matter how many books I give away more just…. appear.  There are guitars and amps, a keyboard, a huge squashy purple sofa and two balls of fur that claim to be cats…. (and yes mum, I’m aware there’s cupboards full of my stuff at your house too…I’m working on it!)

I can’t imagine my life right now without all this.  I don’t want to not have a TV, hair straighteners or glitter.  Life without them doesn’t feel like simplicity to me, it feels like aestheticism, like that dude who stood on a pole for years to prove his love of God.  I wrote about him in my undergraduate dissertation, but that’s a whole other story.

It’s not that the stuff itself makes me happy, I’m not that naive.  And there’s the important distinction.  There’s nothing wrong with having the stuff, with watching trashy soaps, with coveting straight hair, but the stuff does not help in my pursuit of contentment.  Ultimately though (and perhaps somewhat ironically) what I have around me is part of the life I have cultivated for myself.  For us.  And I like my life.  It’s where contentment lies.

That’s not to say that I don’t want a simple life.  I do.  I strive for it.  Because simplicity to me has nothing to do with the stuff around me.  It’s to do with the stuff that’s in my head.  To me simplicity isn’t about getting rid of things – at the end of the day things are neither here nor there.  To me simplicity is about not thinking too much, not overanalysing, letting go and allowing things to just be – Ishvara Parnidhara.

As long as my physical stuff, those things that make me comfortable, don’t distract me from the pursuit of simplification of the mind, or distract my thoughts elsewhere, then they become just a part of the life I want to live right now.

After making the ultimate sacrifice and sacking the car in January, I think I’ll carry on loving my stuff.

All that sitting around thinking too much though, that can definitely get sent to charity!!

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That said I am intending to embark on two little projects in the near future.  In my year of mindfulness I need to stay aware of what I have and how I use it and that includes my time.  So first up I’ll be trying to work out where some of my time goes and give some of that time back to myself a la this post from Kimberly Wilson.   Secondly in an attempt to see how many of those oodles of clothes I have I actually miss I will also be taking part in Heather’s Six Things project.  Apparently accessories, underwear, outerwear, shoes and workout gear don’t count, so this could be a lot more fun than you’d think!

I won’t be starting either of these until September for reasons that will become abundantly clear over the next few weeks, so more then!

(the south bank book stall, london – by moi)

*  Things.  I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, about simplifying and whether I need so many things, so much stuff.  And I’ve come to the conclusion that I love my stuff.  It’s what I need right now to live the life I want. There will be more on this.

*  Closing doors to allow others to open.  A grand decision even if  nerve wracking.

*  Lush’s avobath and an Elemis face pack after what can only be described as a difficult day.

*  Our house.  We’ve just signed the lease for another year which means this winter we can dig a proper vegetable bed.  To celebrate we moved the house around.  Rather than using the biggest room merely to sleep in, we moved the bed into the back of the house and the office into the biggest room.  A change is as good as a holiday they say and I don’t get woken by the 5am rising sun!

*  This book.  It’s so much fun!  Everything from writing thank you letters, to Jane Austen, to Shakespeare, to the history of the shoe.  What’s not to love.

Have a great Thursday readers.  Sprinkle fairy dust everywhere you go

Happy humpday readers, we’re halfway to the weekend.

I’m a bit late with this really because it’s about these little beauties….

…the broad bean.  Apparently broad bean season is over.  Already!!  Like asparagus season, broad bean season is so short!  So I made the most of it all by eating them rather than posting about them.  So if it’s still broad bean season where you are this is for you.

Your beans are cooking away in a risotto, or in a pasta sauce, or in whatever delicious way you like them but what do you do with these?

The pods.  Throw them away? No, never!!!!

Instead, cut them into small fingers….

…dip them in soy milk and flour and shallow fry.

Seriously delicious, especially dipped in ketchup, salsa or chili dip!

A guest blog post for you today readers from Lucas Rockwood of YOGABODY Naturals LLC

Busy, busy!  Things afoot.  You lovely lot will be the first to know when I am at liberty to divulge.  In the meantime, enjoy!!

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The breath and body awareness you cultivate in yoga class quickly spills over into everything you do. Through yoga, most students notice and work through imbalances in their bodies; while at the same time, many begin to notice and work through imbalances in their diet and lifestyle too.

True balance is impossible, of course, but moving toward that middle path is a huge part of what this yoga thing is all about.

So let’s talk about food, yoga, and the bendy-bodied reality of the age-old saying, “You are what you eat!”

When it comes to food, there are so many different opinions about what to eat and what to avoid that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. One teacher tells you that you must be a vegetarian; another suggests that a diet high in lean animal protein is best.

So what’s a yoga student to do? And what about coffee? And ghee? And does this mean I can never have chocolate again?

There’s no “one size fits all” answer to diet questions, as everybody is different and everybody changes over time, but there are some general rules and a handful of powerful “food experiments” that can make your yoga life easier.

Let’s take a look:

• Whole Foods Rule – let the experts and dieticians argue about protein-to-carb ratios and ideal fat intake all they want. Meanwhile, you focus on the one thing that everyone agrees on: whole foods rule!
  Whole foods are foods that look like things found in nature. An apple, for example, is a whole food. Applesauce is not. An egg is a whole food. A jar of mayonnaise is not. The healthiest people in the world eat very different diets—some are strict vegetarians, others eat almost exclusively animal products—but across the board, the one thing they all have in common is their propensity for whole foods.

• Fresh is Best – Brazilian acai berries might be a goldmine for anti-oxidants, but if you had to choose between a processed acai berry drink or a handful of fresh blueberries, go for the blueberries every time. When we’re looking at micro-nutrient density in foods, fresh is best. The fresher the foods, the more bio-available nutrients. Period.
• Ugly, Bumpy, Army Green – the most commercially used foods like corn, soy, and wheat tend to be the most calorie-dense and the least nutrient-dense. Centuries of selective breeding and decades of genetic engineering have left many of the most prevalent foods limp and lame, nutritionally speaking.So, yoga students do well to avoid the white, overly pretty foods on offer, and instead should aim for the ugly, bumpy, and army green produce that’s often ignored. The more wild the plant, the more micro nutrients it contains—almost without exception. Go for the dinosaur kale, the army green cabbages, bitter herbs and lumpy squashes. These neglected plants are the real nutritional treasures in the grocery store.
• Conduct Food Experiments – every yoga student should indulge in at least a month of food experiments at some point in their practice. It’s a ton of fun and is the best way to learn more about your unique body and its preferences. Food experiments usually involve a single food elimination diet for a period of 7 days.Elimination? But that sounds hard!

Keep in mind, we’re just talking about one food for one week. It’s really not that difficult at all. For example, if you’re considering becoming a vegetarian, try it out for 10 days first. Give it your 100% best effort, keep a food journal and see what happens.

If you feel terrible the entire week, well, maybe it’s not for you. If you feel light and energized and your bowels are more regular than usual, then perhaps it’s an experiment you might try for a month? A year? More?

I suggest everyone do an elimination food experiment with dairy, wheat, meat, and sugar (at separate times) for at least 7 days each. Completely eliminate the food in question from your diet for the week; and then, when you break the experiment, eat LOTS of that food right away and see what happens.

Food experiments will give you huge insight into your internal chemistry—more so than any amount of theory or medical testing could. Once you “feel” how particular foods affect you, it’s so easy to start making food choices that nurture your unique body. 

As a yoga teacher and nutritional coach, I’m constantly amazed at the power of foods. The tiniest changes in diet compound over time and can result in dramatic physical and mental shifts.

Some students who cut back on dairy, for example, find their pranayama practice is so much easier with less mucous in their sinuses. Other students discover the power of magnesium-rich green juice for relieving soreness and tension in their post-practice bodies.

With food, you never know until you try; and since most people eat the same foods they were fed as a child, they are moving through life like a horse with blinders, completely unaware of the fun, bio-diverse, and nutrient-dense world that is all around them. Take off your blinders, conduct experiments, focus on whole foods, and make your food choices an integral part of your yoga practice today!

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LUCAS ROCKWOOD is a yoga teacher trainer, an author, and the founder of YOGABODY Naturals, an education and food supplement company that creates powerful yoga tools for real people. LEARN MORE HERE.

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This blog has been included in two “top” lists over the last few weeks.

Firstly the 50 Best Meditation Therapy Blogs list under the description “If you thought your suburban lifestyle was far too hectic to make yoga part of the routine, think again. This site gives you the fundamental tools for making yoga a regular thing that doesn’t get in the way.”  I really like that.  I’m going to use that in the future!

And secondly I am in this Top 45 Yoga Blogs Award list (along with some other wonderful Yoga Bloggers).  Well done to all of us!

But mostly, without going too “Oscar Acceptance Speech” on your asses, I’d like to thank you dear readers.  Without the readers there would be no blog, just a yogini talking to herself.  And apparently for that second award you lot voted…. so thank you thank you thank you!!!

Keep reading.  It makes me so happy that you like all this waffle!