class schedule

Thursday, 8/11
-8:30am Tualatin 24
-11:00am Pearl 24
-5:30pm Adidas
-7:30pm Pearl 24

NO CLASSES FRIDAY, 8/12

Saturday, 8/13
-7:00am Hollywood 24
-10:30am Murray Scholls 24

Sunday, 8/14
-9:00am Clogs-N-More (employees only)
-12:00pm Beaverton 24

Monday, 8/15
-11:00am Clackamas 24
-4:15pm Murray Scholls 24
-7:30pm COMMUNITY YOGA (1644 SE 52nd in Mt Tabor neighborhood) class is $5-$10 (sliding scale) and open to everyone. Please bring a mat or towel and water.

Tuesday, 8/16
-8:30am Tualatin 24
-5:30pm Adidas
-7:30pm Clogs-N-More (employees only)

Wednesday, 8/17
-11:00am Clackamas 24
-7:00pm McLoughlin 24

Thursday, 8/18
-8:30am Tualatin 24
-5:30pm Adidas
-7:30pm Pearl 24

NO CLASSES FRIDAY, 8/19

Saturday, 8/20
-7:00am Hollywood 24

NO CLASSES SUNDAY 8/21 OR MONDAY 8/22

Tuesday, 8/23
-8:30am Tualatin 24
-5:30pm Adidas
-7:30pm COMMUNITY YOGA (1644 SE 52nd in Mt Tabor neighborhood) class is $5-$10 (sliding scale) and open to everyone. Please bring a mat or towel and water.

Wednesday, 8/24
-11:00am Clackamas 24
-7:00pm McLoughlin 24

Thursday, 8/25
-8:30am Tualatin 24
-5:30pm Adidas
-7:30pm Pearl 24

NO CLASSES FRIDAY, 8/26 OR SATURDAY, 8/27

I want to know...

What feeds your soul? What are you passionate about? What makes you feel ALIVE? Here are some of mine:

• Yoga. (Shocking, right?!) My yoga mat is such a comforting space for me. My practice has seen me through many ups and downs over the years. I sometimes wonder what my life would be like today if I'd never discovered yoga. I don't think I want to know!
• The mountains. Especially Mt. Hood. I am so obsessed with its beauty and I can never get enough. Anytime I see it from Portland, I smile. If someone is with me I have to point it out, regardless of how many other times we've seen it that day. While driving home from a swimming hole in Washington last weekend, I said "Look at the mountain!" at least a dozen times. I just can't help but be overwhelmed every time I see it. Which takes me to my next great love...
• Snowboarding. I don't care if I fall a million times or seamlessly shred black diamonds all day- I LOVE IT! I feel so connected to nature when I'm on my board. I don't dream of having a big fancy house or a yard full of kids, I dream about teaching yoga at a resort and snowboarding every single day. 
• A really good cup of coffee. My last cup of "oh my gosh this is amazing" coffee was last week at Cloud Seven Cafe. There's something about coffee on a bright and sunny morning that just makes my soul sing. I can't help but be happy! There's also something very comforting about a cup of coffee on a dark and dreary morning. Do you get the point yet? I like coffee.

There's my Top Four. I try to find beauty and love in everything, all over the place. I could actually make a list so long it would take you all day to read, but I will spare you. Now you! What's on YOUR list?!

more smoothie excitement

 I've been extra experimental with my smoothies over the past couple of days, and I'm finding that you really can just toss anything in there and create something delicious. I have yet to make one that tasted bad. Although I must admit, beet smoothies are not my favorite. Drinkable, but not my favorite. Here's what I put in my smoothie this morning (everything organic):

• 1/4 avocado
• 5 grape tomatoes (halved)
• 1/3 zucchini (sliced & halved)
• 1/2 large apple
• banana
• 5 strawberries
• big handful of spinach
• splash of rice milk
• 3 big scoops of plain nonfat yogurt

Start playing around with this and you'll find that exact measurements are not necessary. I bought some baby bok choy at the store today and I'm excited to try it in the morning! If you've never tried making your own smoothies, I'll give you a few pointers.

For one, I buy everything organic. Ever heard of the 'Dirty Dozen' and the 'Clean 15'? The dirty dozen is a list of foods with high pesticide residue, and the clean fifteen is a list of things that are safer to buy non-organic. You can find that list here.

I also avoid buying my leafy greens in a bag. I go to the produce section or my local farmers market and buy them in bunches. Cheaper! I live within walking distance of just about everything, so I don't mind going to the store often. I buy enough fresh fruits and veggies to last only a couple of days so I can ensure that everything is super fresh and that nothing goes to waste.

Surely you can tell that I'm really excited about these delicious and healthy smoothies, and I hope that you can get excited about them too! If you come up with your own unique creation, please share it with me! And if you have any questions, ask me!

Happy blending! :)

new playlist

Some of these songs are also on my most recent playlist, but they're so good I just can't get enough!

• FC Kahuna: Hayling
• Thievery Corporation: Free
• Lykke Li: I'm Good, I'm Gone
• Madonna: Get Together
• Foster The People: Pumped Up Kicks
• Mumford & Sons: Awake My Soul
• The Head & The Heart: Lost In My Mind
• Beach House: Take Care
• Lykke Li: Love Out Of Lust
• Mumford & Sons: After The Storm
• Death Cab For Cutie: The Ice Is Getting Thinner
• Bon Iver & St. Vincent: Roslyn

Can't wait for a fun and energetic flow with this playlist tonight at 6:30. Downtown 24, be there!

choose love, face fear

Kathryn Budig talked a lot about 'Aim True' at the workshops I recently took from her. She had a big dry erase board in front of class that said:

CHOOSE LOVE:

HOPE 

EMBRACE

BELIEF

CONFIDENCE

FACE FEAR:

DOUBT

EXPECTATION 

DREAD

I've been trying to apply this all over the place in my life. Not just on my yoga mat, but everywhere throughout my life recently. On Friday, I went to a cute and tiny swimming hole in Washington and I saw these little boys jumping off a rock and into the water. My first thought was something like this: "Oh, that looks like fun! Wish I could do that, but I won't. I don't want to get wet, I don't want my mascara to run, the water looks cold, etc." I know this jump looks pretty puny in the video, but I was scared! I had all these questions running through my head like, I wonder how cold that water really is? Am I going to hit the bottom? Am I going to freak out if I don't hit the bottom? What if I can't find the surface again?! I decided to stop with the questions, put my Marie Claire magazine down and go for it. When I got to the top of the rock, I got really nervous but had one of those "I've come this far..." moments. After all, I did climb up the back side of a rock in a bathing suit with no shoes on and tell my husband I was going to do it. I couldn't chicken out now! So there, I did it. The water was cold and lots of it went up my nose, but it was fun! I only did it once but that was all I needed. In that moment, I had chosen love and faced fear. It's the small victories :)

I challenge you to start applying this concept to your own life. Start small. It might not be a big deal to anyone else, but maybe it is to you and be okay with that. Try a pose you wouldn't normally try, go places you've never been, eat things you've never eaten. Maybe after you've tried something you might realize you don't like it, but in the words of one of my all time favorite movie characters, "that's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too."

LOVE

something new

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am obsessed with healthy smoothies. I discovered the green smoothie sometime last year, but only in the last couple of weeks have I been making one every day. I try to have it for breakfast, but sometimes it ends up being my lunch. I've been having lots of fun experimenting with new things, and last night I decided I'd mix things up a bit and toss a beet in there. I bought a bunch of fresh raw beets yesterday and boiled them for about 8 minutes last night to soften them up a bit and make them easier to peel. I'd like to have them completely raw, but remember- my blender is a dinosaur and I'm not sure it could handle that. After I prepared them, I stuck them in the fridge. Side note: I like to do as much prep as I can the night before, otherwise I spend quite some time in the morning peeling & chopping.

I was really excited to test out the new ingredient this morning. Another side note, I don't think I've ever eaten a beet in my life, but I've been feeling adventurous lately. Last night I noticed they were quite messy and smelled very earthy. So here's what I tossed into my blender this morning:

• one beet
• handful of spinach
• 2 large collard greens
• a banana
• half an apple
• handful of blueberries
• two spoonfuls of plain nonfat yogurt
• a splash or two of rice milk
• 8 small strawberries
• 1/4 avocado

Pretty delicious! It's a bit thicker than the others I've been making, but I don't think the beets changed the taste too drastically. The color, yes- but the taste is just a little bit more earthy than the smoothies I've made before. I will definitely be making more of these!

eat fresh

In Portland, we're lucky to have lots of farmers markets around town! Shopping at farmers markets allows you to support local farmers while also supporting your own health (and wallet, it's cheaper than a grocery store!). I'm looking forward to loading up on lots of fresh fruits and vegetables at the one near my house today! To find a farmers market near you, check out www.localharvest.org.