Hip (ster) Paradise

I KNOW YOU ARE HIP BUT...

I'd like to share some essential info with you about your hips. You weren't born with an instruction manual, and so you may be still learning how your extraordinary architecture is built and how to use it for maximum efficiency.

You might be a Hippie, Hipster, Hip-Hop Lover but you for certain have a couple 'Hip Joints'.

Most often we have heard 'bend from your knees', which is good advice as your knees also are designed to bend and allow your body to move lower in space, however it's easy to bend your knees while bending the low back simultaneously.

Once you un-tuck your pelvis, you then have space for your hips to bend and your spine to stay long.

Get hip with it.

Let me know how putting on your shoes on, reaching in your bag for your phone or picking up your baby is now, as you apply this principle to your alignment and movement.

Taking your hip bending on a walk is the next step...literally.

Join me next week to learn how!

UPCOMING WORKSHOP: EDIT YOUR STRUT
An alignment workshop through the lens of the practice New Yorker's most common activity; Walking

Thursday July 16th
6:30-7:45pm, W 66th st Central Park
SIGN-UP HERE

To learn more about what you will learn, checkout my piece, Why your walk may be the least healthy thing about you, on NYC's most healthy blog Well + Good
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Lets identify what I mean by Hip Joint. Not the cool place you like to hang out at but that perfectly placed hinge below your pelvis designed to help you bend. You might think your hip joint is above your pelvis, but that is actually your waist.

If this describes you; bending from your low back, feeling discomfort at all in your hips, neck or spine, you most likely are not using your hip joints. To change this pattern, make sure you create space in your hip joint by un-tucking your pelvis first.

Your low back is not designed as a hinging joint, thus your hips are where its at when it comes to bending.

Your hips can bend and your knees can either stay straight or bend depending on the comfort and length of your hamstrings, but most important is that your hips crease as your spine enjoys length.

Buckwheat Flax Health Cakes

ONE EGG (BIT H20)

TWO TEASPOONS BUCKWHEAT FLOUR

ONE TEASPOON GROUND GOLDEN FLAX

MIX UNTIL PANCAKE BATTER CONSISTENCY

USING COCONUT OIL OR BUTTER

FLIP ONCE

ADD BLUEBERRIES AS A NICE VARIATION

SERVE WITH MAPLE SYRUP, HONEY OR JAM

YUM!

A meditation to open your self-lovin

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Hallmark or not, Valentines Day reminds us
to engage in the act of loving, loving someone,
but most importantly loving ourselves...


A 5min Audio Meditation to access your inner love!

 LISTEN HERE!
(you'll need a mirror) 

FIRE CIDER!

I RECENTLY MADE AN IMMUNE BOOSTING ELIXIR BASED ON AN OLD FOLK REMEDY TO KEEP THE FIRE BURNING STRONG ALL WINTER LONG!!!

EASY AS 1, 2, 3

In a large mason jar and add the following chopped/grated ingredients then cover in Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, cover with parchment, so brew doesn't touch the medal lid and let sit for one month, shaking occasionally, strain, add raw honey to taste....I like to take a shot a day!

1/2 cup Horseradish Root/ 1/2 cup Ginger/ 1 Onion/ 10 Gloves Garlic/ Fresh Turmeric Root/ 1 Lemon/ for an extra kick, Rosemary / Jalapeno / Cayenne!

A MORNING RITUAL TO ENLIVEN WINTER SKIN

WAKE-UP AND USE YOUR USED COFFEE GRINDS MIXED WITH SESAME OIL FOR A YUMMY, WARMING BODY SCRUB!

Coffee is naturally rich in oils and stimulating for your circulation,  coupled with the Ayurvedic ritual of rubbing the skin with sesame oil.

Hop into the shower and wet your skin with warm water. Kinda messy, but start exfoliating the mixture in circular motions all over (don't recommend the face if you have sensitive skin).

Rinse off and feel how moisturized and soft your skin is!

Comment below and let me know how alive you feel!!!

Food Talk: Macrobiotics / INTERVIEW ON CLEAN PLATES

You may not be familiar with Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa, but you’ve probably come across his approach to healthy and harmonious living, “macrobiotics.” Founded in the 1930s and named after a term first coined by ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, the approach prescribes cutting out processed foods, refined sugars, dairy and meat, and emphasizes whole grains, pickled and fermented foods, sea vegetables, contemplative practices and thoroughly chewing food. The macrobiotic belief is that wellness arises from keeping the body in tune with the natural environment, by maintaining the balance between yin (cooling foods) and yang (warming foods).

We asked shiatsu practioner and macrobiotic-inspired chef Shandoah Goldman to share her modern perspective on this old philosophy—and a recipe.

Q. What does macrobiotics mean to you?

A. Literally, it means ‘big life.’ For me, it is the balance between yin and yang and of the five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and pungent. Macrobiotics is also about eating seasonally. We get the most nourishment from the foods that grow in the same environment we live in. For example, during this time of year, root veggies like turnips and daikon grow in New York. These foods are warming to our bodies, so it’s best to eat them during the colder months.

Q. How did you come to follow a macrobiotic diet?

A. I was actually brought up eating this way. During my adolescent years I strayed a bit, but as a teenager, I realized I truly felt best when I predominantly followed macrobiotic principles. I integrated these principles of balance into my shiatsu practice by creating personalized menu plans for my clients.  This later grew into a successful macrobiotic-inspired catering company, and I now use these principles to create simple, easy and delicious recipes for my blog.

Q. Macrobiotics gets a bad rap for being strict and time-consuming. Any tips for making it more accessible?

A. Just as macrobiotics teaches, I really believe it’s all about finding a balance: you can maintain the basic principles and adapt the practice to your individual needs. It doesn’t have to be so complicated or time-consuming. I like keeping cooked grain on hand and then making “one pot meals” where all the cooking is confined to one pot through a layering system so you can spend less time cooking and more time enjoying the meal.

Try one of Shandoah’s “one pot meal” ideas:

Shiitake, Root Vegetable Nabe

1/2 Daikon root peeled, sliced on the diagonal
1 burdock root, peeled, sliced on the diagonal
1 carrot, peeled, sliced on the diagonal
1 small piece ginger root, sliced or grated
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. Tamari (or soy sauce), more to taste
5 medium Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 handful kale
scallion, sesame seeds, Kimchi to garnish

Place roots, carrot, ginger, water and tamari in a shallow pan. Cover and let simmer on low heat until roots are tender (5-7 minutes). Add shIitakes, cover and simmer for a couple more minutes, then add kale on top.  Cover for one more minute and turn off heat so kale becomes tender but not soft. Serve in a bowl, garnished with sliced scallions, sesame seeds, and kimchi if you like spice. Goes great with brown rice. Total cooking time, only 10-12 minutes.

Check out Souen and Ozu, Shandoah’s favorite Clean Plates-approved macrobiotic restaurants in NYC.

LINK TO ARTICLE:http://national.cleanplates.com/interviews/food-talk-macrobiotics/#.VK_o6CeRpRk

Golden Ginger Turmeric Lemonade (its like internal sunshine!)

A brew to bring internal sunshine that will
make you glow throughout the winter!

Boil 3 cups water with a teaspoon of fresh grated  ginger and turmeric root (stains) 

Add honey and lemon to taste!

This brew incorporates the
flavors, sweet, bitter, pungent, 
& sour, which makes it extremely
balancing.

Stoke your internal fire!

Warm food=Warm body

I am so happy to share with you one of
my favorite recipes specifically for this time of year~

It is a wonderful meal to have for
breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all three!)

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Brown Rice Congee-(Asian savory porridge)
1 cup short grain brown rice
4 cups water
1 chopped burdock root
1 Organic chicken on the bone thigh (optional, add 1 more cup water)
2 tsp sea salt or to taste
4-6 shitake mushrooms diced
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tblsp fresh greated ginger root
1 tblsp fresh grated turmeric root
fresh Thyme to taste
garnish with fresh chopped scallions, olive oil & a squeeze of lemon

Add all ingredients into a stainless steel pot,
bring to a boil and simmer for 90 mins.
stirring occasionally until a thick stew-like
consistency. Remove Bones if using chicken.

Warming to the kidneys, this recipe will ignite
a profound sense of satisfaction, balance.

Your body will thank you!!

Get in touch and let me know how you liked it!