class schedule this week

Monday (7/30)
12:00-1:00 / Adidas (vinyasa)
5:00-6:15 / Yoga Pearl (vinyasa)

Tuesday (7/31)
9:30-11:00 / Yoga Pearl (power vinyasa)
2:00-3:00 / Yoga Pearl (community vinyasa $10)
5:30-6:30 / Adidas (vinyasa)
7:15-8:15 / Sunset Community Yoga

Wednesday (8/1)
7:00-8:00pm / 24 Hour Fitness McLoughlin (vinyasa)

Thursday (8/2)
2:00-3:00 / Yoga Pearl (vinyasa
5:30-6:30 / Adidas (vinyasa)
7:30-8:30 / 24 Hour Fitness Pearl (vinyasa)

Friday (8/3)
12:00-1:00 / Adidas (vinyasa)
6:15-7:30 / Yoga Pearl (power vinyasa)

A few smoothie-making tips

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of green smoothies. Here are some quick and easy tips for creating the perfect blend of nutrition and taste:

• Cut the dairy! Instead of using milk or yogurt in your smoothies, try using an alternative milk such as rice, hemp, coconut, almond or soy (non gmo). You could also try coconut water, or even plain water works just fine. Obviously, the more liquid you put in the blender, the thinner your drink will be. Dairy interferes with your body's absorption of iron, plus there are plenty of ways to get calcium without ingesting dairy.

 

• Buy organic. Yes, it really does make a difference and yes, it really is worth the extra money. Would you really want to eat something that not even a bug would eat? Or would you want to eat something that would kill a bug? Would you spray Raid on your salad? I think not. Here's a list that you should be familiar with- the clean fifteen and the dirty dozen:

• Add lots of leafy greens. Today I threw in a large handful of spinach and 4 leaves of kale. Yum!

• Add nutrient-dense foods. Blueberries, spinach, kale, avocado, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, strawberries & tomatoes are all great in smoothies and their nutrition content is through the roof.

• Make sure you're using ingredients that you like and enjoy. Sounds like a no-brainer, but if you really hate bananas, don't add them to your smoothies!

• Buy fresh fruits and veggies, or pick your own if you can. I live in Oregon where there's an abundance of farmer's markets and pick-your-own farms. Instead of buying a bag of frozen fruit, I buy it fresh, cut it and freeze it myself. Usually, I don't even freeze my fruit, as I prefer to buy it in smaller quantities and use it before it goes bad. If you like your smoothies chilled, toss a few ice cubes in the blender- I find that 3-5 cubes will do the trick.

• Coconut oil rocks (click here to find out why). I add a spoonful to most of my smoothies. Another quick tip- lightly saute kale with a little bit of coconut oil, add sea salt and enjoy. So good!

• Try throwing some avocado in your smoothies. They have a nice, creamy consistency (use 1/4 - 1/2) and also have health benefits out the wazoo. Avocados aid in the prevention of several types of cancer and are loaded with vitamin E, potassium, magnesium & healthy fats. Plus, they taste fantastic. Kathryn Budig agrees.

• Don't be afraid to experiment. Tiffany Cruikshank wrote, "If you spent some time at my house you would know that when I make my smoothie in the morning I pretty much throw the entire veggie drawer in there." I have been known to do that myself. Sometimes, my smoothies look more brown than green, but it's not due to a lack of greens!

I never follow a specific recipe when making my smoothies. I do follow somewhat of a formula, but it's not an exact science. If you're new to the health smoothie world, I would recommend starting with 8-12 ounces of almond milk, a handful of greens, some fresh fruit and a spoonful of seeds (hemp, pumpkin, chia, etc). As your palate adjusts, you can try adding more veggies and less fruit.

Summer Class Schedule

Monday:
Adidas 12:00pm

Tuesday:
Yoga Pearl (90 minute Power Vinyasa) 9:30am (subbing for Nikki Weaver)
Yoga Pearl (60 minute Community Vinyasa $10) 2:00pm (subbing for Nikki Weaver)
Adidas 5:30pm
Sunset Community Yoga 7:15pm ($10, email me for more information)

Wednesday:
McLoughlin 24 7:00pm

Thursday:
Yoga Pearl (90 minute Power Vinyasa) 9:30am (subbing for Nikki Weaver)
Yoga Pearl (60 minute Community Vinyasa $10) 2:00pm (subbing for Nikki Weaver)
Adidas 5:30pm
Pearl 24 7:30pm

new playlist

• Thievery Corporation: Marching The Hate Machines
• Stateless: Bloodstream
• Cat Power: Maybe Not
• Portishead: Mourning Air
• Anya Marina: Whatever You Like
• Sia: Breathe Me (Mylo Remix)
• TV on the Radio: Tonight
• Bjork: Virus
• Mofro: Circles
• Animal Collective: Loch Raven
• The Album Leaf: Window
• Thomas Newman: Any Other Name

a natural way to control pain and inflammation

After 12 days on the couch, I returned to teaching this week. I am so blissfully happy to be back on my mat and with my students.

I'm currently in that weird in-between phase- I am walking on my own and have almost regained full extension of my knee, but I'm also just 2 weeks out of surgery and dealing with my fair share of pain and inflammation. It's imperative that I take care of myself now, listen to my body and not overdo it, especially since my surgeon and physical therapist told me I didn't have any physical limitations and I could return to normal activity as my body permitted. I want to get back to my normal life so bad, but I know that allowing my body to heal properly and fully is so much more important.

After returning to teaching and other normal tasks (like walking to the grocery store) this week, I have really been in pain. I've been trying to control the pain and inflammation as naturally as possible because I hate taking pain medication. Last night, after teaching two classes and walking to and from the grocery store with a big bag of food, I was in need of some serious relief and ice wasn't cutting it. I decided to take one of the pain pills prescribed to me. It helped with the pain and made me very tired, but I was still unable to sleep. I remember thinking really strange thoughts, one in particular was about coriander seeds (???). Once I finally fell asleep, I woke myself up after nearly scratching my skin off. Itching is a side effect... how nice. Then I got really nauseous and I had to take a pill for that too. Beyond all that, I was unable to sleep well, so when I finally fell asleep I didn't wake up until 1pm. I woke up feeling completely high, wondering how I was going to make a business call. After talking to my mom for a bit and eating some fruit, I felt a little more normal and made the call. It turned out fine, but after being awake for only an hour and half I fell back asleep again until I had to wake up to go teach. I'm still exhausted, and will go to bed as soon as I finish this drink I made.

Obviously, I am not interested in taking any more pills that will make me itchy, nauseous and restless, so after some advice from my dear Hemalayaa, I came up with this concoction- a natural way to control pain and inflammation. Almond milk, cayenne pepper, turmeric and cinnamon. It's spicy and quite delicious, I hope it helps! It's bound to be better than the icky icky pain pill ;)

To everyone who has wished me well and sent me love during this time, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so happy to finally be (almost) on the other side of this!

Love,
Tami

feeling better

I had my first post-operative appointment today and I am happy to report that my knee is healing nicely. It's still lacking 8 degrees of extension, so I'll really be working on straightening it completely in the next few days, but I can't wait to get back to my normal teaching schedule tomorrow!

I'm still very limited in what I can physically do, I only started walking on my own yesterday, but it feels so good to be moving forward. The surgery was only 10 days ago, but it feels like it's been forever since I've been able to practice yoga. I practiced and taught regularly throughout the past 7 months, but it was not without pain.

This experience has been interesting, to say the least. Ever since the initial injury 7 months ago, I've been reminding myself that this whole happened for a reason. I didn't know the reason at the time, and to be honest, it was only something I told myself in hopes that I would eventually begin to believe it. Now that what I hope to be the hardest part is behind me, I feel like I'm starting to catch a glimpse of the bigger picture. The past 10 days have been especially introspective for me, and what I've already known has become set in stone. I love to teach and practice yoga. I love to run. I love to hike. I love to snowboard, and I love to dance around my apartment like a lunatic, sometimes for hours at a time. My ability to do all of these things is directly related to my happiness.

I hope that you'll join me in class this week! Here's my schedule:

• Tuesday- Adidas 5:30
• Wednesday- Clackamas 24 11am, McLoughlin 24 7pm
• Thursday- Adidas 5:30, Pearl 24 7:30pm

Love,
Tami

surgery update

This surgery deceived me. I was told that it was a super simple procedure, and compared to others that is probably true, but nobody warned me that although simple, it would still be tough. Post-surgery, in the hospital and on the way home, I felt pretty queasy. To be honest, I don't even remember what I did that night, but I know it involved plenty of pain medication. I was feeling pretty good and even woke up at 4am to write a blog. I spent the first half of the next day alone until my sweet friend Julia came over to hang with me. Let me just take this moment to say that there is something really nice about having a friend you're close enough with to be able come right out and tell them what you need. Initially, Julia said she was tired on Friday after work and wasn't sure. She works for OHSU and has a very busy, fast-paced job. After asking a couple other people to come sit with me that night, I told Julia that I was sorry she'd be tired but that I really did need her, and she came right over. Oh, how I love her!

Julia ordered pizza for us and we laid in my bed together watching trashy TV. She helped me get through my first set of physical therapy exercises and made sure I was as comfortable as possible. At some point in the evening, my pain level shot through the roof so intensely that we had to call the doctor on call. Being that I was already drugged up and couldn't remember anything, Julia wrote down everything he said. He told me to double my dosage on the pain medication, which sounded like a good idea at the time so I did it. Because my husband got home late and we were both really tired, Julia stayed the night. She is great!

Hours after taking a double dose of prescription pain medication, I woke up vomiting so hard I thought my eyes would pop out of my head. Seriously, it was that bad. This continued for several hours, which in the moment felt more like several days. Julia left in the morning and my husband sat with me until he had to leave for work at 1. The sickness never stopped. Without me even realizing what was happening, Julia arranged for one of our friend's moms to come stay with me. I got a call from Amy minutes after Julia left saying, "Are you okay? My mom is coming over!" Thank God for all these amazing people in my life. Lauri arrived right before Keith had to leave for work and I looked like death. I had no color in my face and my eyes looked empty. As awful as I felt, Lauri made me feel calm and taken care of. She made me peppermint tea to help with the nausea, and straightened up my bed every time I had to get out of it so it was always clean and fresh. She also swept my floors and opened my windows to let some fresh energy in. My primary care doctor called, seemingly out the of blue, because he said he had seen that I'd just had surgery and he wanted to see how I was feeling. After 24 hours of feeling like I'd been hit by a truck, I didn't hold back. He called in an anti-nausea drug for me and Lauri went to pick it up. Shortly after taking it, I was starting to feel a bit better. I was able to finally finish my tea and also eat some carrots. The vomit throwing hell ride had finally ended. I only took two of the pills, but I'd say the $17 I paid for that medicine was some of the best money I've ever spent.

After things had calmed down, Holly, a yoga student of mine, brought me some delicious food. Lauri pointed out that the food came from someone who really knew me. It was this glorious dish of quinoa, rainbow chard, black beans and corn, in addition to a bowl of yummy greens with baked yams, onions, sweet bell peppers, avocado, and pine nuts. Also, a package of plain greek yogurt (which I use as a sour cream substitute) and some dressing for the salad. It tasted like heaven it was so nice to not have to think about food. She also brought tulips, which look beautiful on my coffee table and make me smile every time I hobble in there.

Today I woke up with what I would easily classify as the worst headache I have ever had in my life, but midway through the day, it seemed to ease up. My brain still feels foggy and I'm still feeling a bit of pain, but I feel like I am finally starting to feel like a normal human again. I still can't walk without crutches, but I am super thankful to not be feeling nauseous or dealing with a massive headache.

The point of this blog is not to whine about how crappy this has been (although it did feel pretty good to let some of that out), but more to emphasize the importance of having good people in your life. I have wondered several times through this process what I would have done without certain people. Even friends and family from far away comforted me with super sweet and loving texts and phone calls. This experience has also been a great reminder for me to slow down, take a step back and realize all the wonderful things my body does for me on a daily basis. I have been so hard on myself, asking myself questions like "Why am I not walking yet?!" and "Why does it still hurt?!". Even though it was a relatively simple surgery, it is still a surgery. Surgeries are not simple and painless. I actually thought I would be walking the day after the surgery, when in reality, I hadn't even experienced the worst part by then. I can now officially say, I think, that I am glad to be over the hump. I look forward to returning to my yoga practice and teaching, but I am also taking sufficient time off to rest. I will return to my normal teaching schedule on Tuesday, April 24th. 

Here I am in the hospital pre-surgery, naively thinking I would be all better in 24 hours.

Love,
Tami