Simple Truths.

"Let the beauty we love be what we do."  -Rumi

Day 29: Seated Wide-Angle Pose (Upavistha Konasana)

P.O.O. Cake

First of all, I was featured by GrowSoulBeautiful for the Day 23: Revolved Head-to-Knee pose!  I was excited because that happened to be my dad's birthday, and he was such a good sport, standing in the middle of the street to capture the perfect angle of me on the bench.  Thanks, Dad, for supporting my little adventures!  We're famous now!

My newest creation is quick and easy and perfect for those nights when you want something freshly baked and sweet, without derailing your healthy diet.  It's a single-serving dessert, made in a mug, and microwaved for goodness' sake, so you know it's quick and simple.  It's also delicious, so I am naming it the Party Of One cake.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I love acronyms.  Praveena's infamous date desserts were renamed B.L.I.N.D. date balls because those sounded more awesome. (Blended Lime juice In Nutty Deliciousness).  So keeping with tradition, this is the P.O.O. cake. 

Wow.  This post is going downhill fast.

This variation is the Pumpkin P.O.O. cake.  Seriously, it's the fastest dessert for one!

Here's the recipe:  (The Party Of One cake serves one, hence the smaller measurements)
-1 egg white
-1.5 Tb. coconut flour
-1 Tb. almond or oat flour
-1 Tb. vanilla whey protein powder
-1/2 tsp. baking powder
-2.5 Tbs. almond milk
Mix all of these together and put in a mug and microwave for 1-1.5 minutes.  

For the topping, I just mixed together 3 Tbs. pumpkin puree with 2 Tbs. almond milk, a splash of pumpkin pie spice, and some sprinkles of shredded coconut.  I drizzled the finished product with pure maple syrup.  You can choose your own sweetener of choice.

There you have it folks, the fastest and most delicious and protein-filled dessert.  You can even add cocoa powder into the base cake mix and change up the toppings so it really looks like a P.O.O. cake.

Switching gears, today is Day 28, or Revolving Side Angle pose.  I've always ridden past this cool metal structure while I was on my bike rides, so today I drove to that structure and made it my yoga mat...

Off the mat. On the metal. Fun stuff.

Superfoods Make You Superfly

By now, many of you know about my not-so-secret crushes on Rich Roll and Brendan Brazier.  They both happen to be amazing triathletes and also vegan.

Reading Brazier's book Thrive and following Rich Roll's journey unfold from a busy 'couch potato' lawyer to an endurance athlete who competed in Ultraman (a double Ironman) made me very curious about how they fueled their bodies using plants alone.  Seeing how their plant-powered nutrition was a key factor in their ability to recover from hard workouts that clearly 'made a dent' and how they were able to follow it up with an equally difficult training day with just as much mojo meant their nutrition was top-notch.  Reading about the foods they incorporated into their diets inspired me to add some natural plant 'superfoods' into my own.

I started using Maca powder in my morning green smoothies, and Monday through Friday, this replaces my morning coffee.  I feel amazing.  Goji berries became a new snack, perfect for before and after swimming sessions when I need some quick sugars without a full stomach.  Goji berries are packed with essential amino acids, rich in Vitamin A and a good source of Vitamin C.  For 1 oz, you get 3 g fiber and 4 g of protein.  Not too shabby!

The fact that I could swim my 100s on the 1:20 interval
without puking in the pool makes me a believer!

Cacao nibs have also become a fun dessert addition.  I've baked them into banana muffins, and now started adding them to my homemade 'ice cream' made from my Vitamix.  RIch in flavanols and polyphenols, cacao nibs are a mayan superfood that contain one of the highest dietary sources of magnesium.  In 1 oz, you also get 4 g of protein and 9 grams of fiber! 

Homemade banana muffins with cacao nibs.
Taste soo much better than GU gels on a long bike ride.

Frozen bananas, almond milk, cinnamon and cacao nibs = dessert.

Variation #2. This time with matcha green tea powder
and organic spinach. (you can't taste the spinach!)

It's been pretty fun experimenting with different superfoods and seeing how it has been benefitting my recovery from harder workout sessions.

The hugest breakthrough this weekend was being able to log a total of 16 miles running without heel pain!  I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!  I'm still rolling out with a golf ball along that plantar muscle and doing my daily exercises, but I've been so happy to finally hit the trails and get that runner's high; something that swimming and biking don't do for me.  

Yes, folks. This is what flat feet look like and the lengths I have
to go to in order to prevent blisters and chafing.

Just started running after work. Had my headlamp. Felt good.
Logged 10 miles.

Logged some awesome trail time with Cammy (aka Pinecone) after
a good masters swimming practice. This gal is a rockstar!

And yes, today is Day 27 of my Yoga-a-Day challenge.  Today's pose was the bow pose...

Bow pose up high in a tree.  Hunger Games style. 

Another bow at the top of the trailhead. You know,
since variety is the spice of life.

Hope everyone has a super week filled with superfoods...

Yoga-A-Day.

You can think of it as the 30 Runs in 30 Days.  But for yogis.  And I love it.  There's a specific pose for each day, and just like the creative challenge of capturing your daily run in a photo, this is fun because you take the poses off the mat and into the real world.

Creativity within some semblance of structure.  My kind of challenge!

Here's what I have so far...I started this challenge at Day 19 with Camel Pose.

Day 20: Mountain Pose (Parvatasana)

Day 21: Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Day 22: Intense Side Stretch (Parsvottanasana)

Day 23: Revolved Head-to-Knee (Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana)

Day 24: Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)

I've realized that I have the most awesome photographers who are such good sports.  I appreciate all the people in my life who support my craziness and creativity...  

What Do I Desire?

This morning I watched this...

It's a heavy and deep question.  But after 3 days of working when the rest of the world was off, I knew that today I desired to be outside in the sunshine and do some artwork.  Simple joys.

I'm halfway through Eckert Tolle's The Power of Now and it has really made me aware of how much our minds dictate our emotions and create problems because we are constantly evaluating the past or focusing on the future.

The key is to be merely present in the "now." 

He refers to gap in consciousness as similar to the one that you achieve in meditation, or during a drug high, where you are merely experiencing 'being,' or for an athlete, when you are completely immersed in that present moment.  You are focused only on the 10 feet of road in front of you while riding your bike, on your foot-strike, or the motion of your arms in the pool.  We in fact learn to crave that time of being unattached, or fully conscious; where there are no problems or fear about the future because you are solely aware of the present moment.  And in the present moment, there are no problems.  There is only 'being.'

Today I did a solo ride up and back down Palomares.  Riding alone is so therapeutic, and I could relate to what Tolle was describing.  Descending at 45 mph, I had razor-sharp focus on the road, but was only aware of the feeling of euphoria, the wind blowing past my body, and the lightness I felt on my bike.

Throwing caution to the wind and descending with absolute joy.

I know that one of my deepest desires is to express myself creatively, so I tapped into that today and pulled out oil pastels and chalk.  I used to love doing oil pastels as a kid; creating a rainbow of colors with pastels and using the black pastel to color over all the colors.  You then take a sharp object and draw or write on the black background, uncovering an array of rainbow colors underneath.

Homemade bday card for my dad; replicating the sunrise over
Lake Amador when we went flyfishing.

It's like an oil pastel analogy of us as individuals.  Sometimes you need to scratch the surface a little bit to reveal a rich array of colors and brilliance underneath.

What do you desire?  It's a good question to ask yourself.

Openness.

Open the window in the center of your chest, and let the spirits fly in and out.  

-Rumi

Trusting the Wheel in Front of You

Mid-ride stretch break overlooking Skyline. Clearly I am over my cold.

Today was my second ride with M, and I was able to sit behind his wheel for a bit and learn his riding style.  One of the basic skills of cycling is learning how to ride in a pace line and how to draft.  Stay close.  Don't overlap wheels.  When a hill is coming, allow extra room when the rider in front stands. Point out potholes.  Don't slam on your brakes.  Steady, Freddy.

Yellow Jacket and his bike...it stings when he drops me on the hills.

Early on as I started road cycling, I was lucky to be mentored by a competitive cyclist.  I trusted his wheel; I could relax an inch behind his wheel, tucked in, knowing he would keep a steady pace and not do anything abrupt.  His understanding of the road was similar to mine; I never found myself looking beyond his shoulder to anticipate changes in the road up ahead.  We rode hundreds of miles together, each taking our separate pulls, but feeling like a single unit. 

Moving up north allowed me to ride with different cycling groups, and it is always a challenge to figure out which wheels I can trust and which wheels to avoid. I've almost crashed riding behind riders who slammed on their brakes, and there are those who nonsensically  pointed out every little piece of debris in the road.  Their wheels are ones who I give myself a lot of space between, and honestly it is exhausting and stressful to follow behind them because I'm in a constant state of hyperawareness and anticipation.

Life has its parallels.

Drafting off someone's wheel requires an immense amount of trust from you.  You will learn who you can work with and who you can't.  It takes time to build trust and rapport; to develop compatibility.  Unfortunately, sometimes a wheel you trusted will do something out of the ordinary, resultantly causing you to crash.

Is it better to ride into the headwind alone?  Or take the chance and develop a sense of trust with the rider in front of you?

Solo base-building winter miles.  a.k.a. Riding into the headwind alone.

The choice is always yours.  But choose your wheels carefully.

Sunshine.

Today I stayed at home in bed, fighting off this cold and sleeping as much as possible.  Today was a reminder to me that there are amazing people in this world who genuinely care.  I think when you are physically weak, it is even more touching to have people offer to bring over soup, tea, or help in any possible way.

Captured from the 3 Bears ride.
A visual reminder of my life...there is always sunshine that makes its way through the clouds.

Thank you to all the people who are rays of sunshine in my life.  It means the world to me.

Art.

Recently I've been inspired by individuals and their art.  Although their tangible art forms are impressive, I am more moved by their ability to be fully present in the creative process and connect with their heart.  So often in life we are stifled by society's notion that we must all follow the safe 'life track' of getting a higher education, getting a stable job, getting married, and starting a family that we lose our True Selves and our ability to express our unique creativity.

Spending so much time and energy to blend in with society's norms and culture has left many of us tired and uninspired.

Oftentimes, I hear people tell me that they are not 'artistic.'  They misunderstand the beauty of art, because in reality, there are no rules.  It is not restrictive, it is freeing.  You merely create and connect with your heart.  There are no right ways or wrong ways to create.  Art is spontaneously inspired, like play... easy, nonjudgemental, and flowing.

I had the pleasure of meeting a right-brained artist in a left-brained work environment.
Place your order...www.vranadesign.com

In the artist's own words, this was "inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge and architecture. The idea of tension appeals to me; specifically holding something together versus pulling it apart."

I'm not just talking about painting or sculpting.  Art is really the external manifestations of whatever things you are passionate about in life, and it can take many mediums- through object form, music, cooking, and even sport.

Food as art.
Maki-sushi and ozoni created and prepared by my family for Japanese New Years.

Fellow cyclist Walter participated in the artistic process by creating his own
 homemade energy bar with GU gel, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and brown rice.

This year I decided not to make the typical New Year's Resolutions, as those are often driven by the mind.  I did, however, resolve to create more and connect more.  For some reason, these resonate more deeply in my heart and give me the creative space for play. 

My mani-reminder: Embrace your uniqueness.  Don't be afraid to stand out.

We are all artists, and our art is the expression of our own beautiful spirits.   I can't wait to see what we all will create in 2013.