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By JEN MULSON, THE GAZETTE
Here are a few of my living well thoughts lately.
• Recently I’ve taken a couple of yoga classes that left me feeling like a million bucks. And I’ve taken a few that left me cantankerous.
In the former, my body felt light, spacious, relaxed, properly worked yet still energetic. In the latter, I felt depleted, tired, grouchy.
How do you feel when you leave a yoga class? Like life can do you no wrong? Or maybe you feel a bit off, extra-emotional or overly tired? All of the above?
I think it’s all about intention and experimentation. Maybe the style of yoga you’re doing isn’t ideal for your body type. For example, if you know your ayurvedic dosha (body type) is pitta, which is a composite of the elements fire and water, then Bikram (hot) yoga might not be your best bet, especially at high noon on a July day. That’s a fireball waiting to happen.
Here’s what I can deduce. My yoga experience goes downhill when I smother the inner teacher, so to speak. When I make myself do a million chaturangas, hold triangle when my body aches to find child’s pose or forget that an inhale follows an exhale, I’m cooking my own goose.
Take care of your future self. Decide how you want to feel at the end of class, and set the intention to get there. If you feel like taking your practice off your mat, try this the next time you’re faced with an un-ideal situation. How do you envision yourself feeling after all is said and done? What steps can you take to make that happen? Maybe you ask a friend now to call you later and see how you’re doing. Maybe you carve out an hour of nothing in advance, so you can just sit.
Take mental notes. It might take a lot of practice to figure it out, but you will. In yoga and life, the body always speaks to you. Learn to listen and obey, even if it’s not what your ego wants.
• Lately I can’t get enough ghee. Ghee is clarified butter that is heavily used in Indian cuisine. It is free of the milk solids, impurities and water in butter, and all that remains is pure fat. Ghee has little to no lactose or milk sugars in it. I buy mine at natural-foods stores, but you can make it yourself.
It involves boiling a pound of unsalted butter, scraping off the white curds that develop and straining the remaining liquid through cheesecloth into a glass jar. The ghee will harden as it cools, and you seal it up as it reaches room temperature. You don’t even have to refrigerate it, just keep it in a tightly sealed container.
Not only does it taste delicious in cooking, but it’s considered to be a healing powerhouse in the Indian culture. The oil is said to increase digestive fire without overheating and causing inflammation in the body, be a boon to the immune system, lubricate the connective tissues in the body and promote flexibility. Ghee is also used externally in ayurvedic treatments, like body massage, first thing in the morning to get the body’s system moving, for scrapes and burns and even in the eyes for fatigue.
I haven’t done more than simply cooking vegetables in it and pouring it over popcorn, but perhaps someday. Keep in mind that it is a fat, and you don’t need me to tell you that more fat can add more pounds and other issues. If you do decide to go ghee, reduce the amount of other fats in your diet.
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Jennifer Mulson teaches yoga at CorePower Yoga in Colorado Springs.
Contact Jennifer Mulson: 636-0277, Twitter @jennifermulson, Facebook Jennifer Mulson
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