Onzie giveaway winner…

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who entered the Onzie Yoga Apparel giveaway by sharing their favourite yoga memories. I loved reading every one of them, all of you are very inspirational!

The winner has been chosen and notified, but please feel free to continue to share your favourite yoga/fitness/running memories on that post or this one. I find that it’s nice to reflect on these moments of joy in our practice, while also sharing it with others as inspiration and motivation. Reading about some of you that were able to achieve certain yoga poses over time reminded me of poses that I am still struggling with. This made me think about how I need to stop avoiding them and start challenging myself to work on them (hello handstand), which will be great for both my body and mind.

Congratulations to the winner and to all of you for having such wonderful memories of your practice! Keep up the OM-azing work! ; )

Also, a huge THANK YOU to Onzie Yoga Apparel for donating this awesome prize to one of my lucky readers. I love sharing great products with you, so I was excited at the opportunity of spreading the word about comfortable and colourful clothes for yoga and everyday life. Enjoy!  ॐ

Run Yogi Run…

Before the race shenanigans

So that’s what I did.

At a very early time in the morning.

Ok, it wasn’t that early, but it was definitely my earliest run of the season and just so happened to be my first 5K race of the year as well.

I’d been looking forward to this race for quite some time, so when I woke up at 5:30 a.m. yesterday I was both tired and excited. I normally only wake that early for flights, never anything active and/or outdoors on a chilly day. Nonetheless, I got up, threw my gear together, made a delicious smoothie, and ran out the door with my boyfriend and roommate for the Oakville Mercedes 10K race, which was a 45 minute drive away.

Could I have done a race a little closer to home? You bet ya! But, do I seem like the type to do things the easy way?!

I’ll be honest here… the original motivation for this race had something to do with the shiny medal that finishers get (see pic below). But as time got closer to the race, it became about more than that. It became about how I haven’t done a race in 2 years, and how I’ve really grown to like running lately, and about challenging myself in a fun and supportive community.

When we arrived at the race grounds, I grew more excited as I was surrounded by all types of runners – the novice, the casual, the experienced, and the ones wearing Boston Marathon jackets – every level you can imagine was there. It was incredibly inspiring to see so many people up bright and early in their spandex ready to run their hearts out for whatever reason. I felt the energy and took it into my run and I hope I spread some of my good vibes around as well. I even started mumbling some words about how I could run a marathon someday… uh oh, I’ve really got the sickness now.

During the run I made sure to say good morning or thank you to all the spectators, volunteers, and police along the route. Recent events really make you realize how important these individuals are and I did my best to thank as many as I could. My boyfriend was an amazing spectator and I am grateful to him for getting up before dawn on his day off to see me race.

Overall the whole morning was great and I left the event with a huge smile on my face. I achieved a personal best of 30:56, previous time being 32 minutes for a 5K. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped! Especially since I was aiming for 34 minutes (taking into consideration that I don’t run in the morning and how chilly it was). Looks like I need to give myself more credit!

And yes, I got my shiny medal.  ॐ

So pretty ; )

Onzie Giveaway!

** This giveaway is now closed. But please feel free to share your favourite yoga/fitness/running memory as part of the discussion **

Recently I was asked to think about my favourite yoga memory or experience, and to be honest, this was a tough one to answer. Even though I haven’t traveled to India or been on a major yoga retreat (yet!), there are still so many good memories to look back on…

- My first ever yoga class – I was stiff!

- Touching my toes for the first time – had an awesome Iyengar teacher help me get there

- Meeting so many great people at workshops and my home studio

- Workshops with Julie Gudmestad and Jawahar Bangera

- My first shoulderstand without props – after a few years of re-building from a neck injury

This list could go on!

But, I’d have to say that one of my favourites would be graduating from yoga teacher training. After so much time of working hard, learning more about yoga and myself, and connecting with my fellow trainees, the graduation was a time of elation and positivity. Ready to go out into the world to share this gift of yoga and filled with so much new knowledge. What a great day!

I have come far from that graduation in 2009… on my path, off my path, challenged time and time again. Currently, I am not teaching, but I know I would love to get back into it again. I want to share my love of yoga with others, I want to help them like my teachers helped me, and I want to have fun with great students while being connected to such an amazing community. I’ll get there, but in the meantime I need to keep learning from those around me and sticking to my daily practice.

And one way to help this daily practice is to have comfortable, flexible clothes. That’s where this giveaway comes in! Onzie Yoga Apparel is graciously giving away $75 towards their amazing clothing that you just have to check out. I’ve had the experience of wearing their Gypsy Pant and Dip Dye Muscle Tank (pictured below), which are both hot pieces but also perfect for yoga. These items allow for all ranges of movement and flowing, while also allowing you to keep cool and looking good. Plus, these pieces look so great, they don’t have to be worn for just yoga. The pants are great for throwing on with a tank on a nice spring day or the Dip Dye Muscle Tank can be worn with your fave pair of jeans and a gorgeous scarf. Onzie has many other items that can be worn in so many different ways, check out their site for more info and to see the gorgeous colours and patterns available.

Details for the giveaway:

Contest open until Sunday, April 21st 11:59 pm EST

$75 of Onzie Yoga Apparel up for grabs (how awesome is that?!)

What you need to do:

- Leave a comment telling me about your favourite yoga memory (or fitness/running if you haven’t tried yoga yet)

- Extra entry – Like Onzie Yoga Apparel on Facebook (let me know you did this in the comments)

- Extra extra entry – Like YogiCrystal on Facebook

Good luck!!  ॐ

Dip Dye Muscle Tank (pic from theonzie.com)

Gypsy Pant (pic from theonzie.com)

One goal down…

Yesterday morning I woke to some awesome news in my inbox – my article was published on elephant journal!

How exciting is that? I’m still pretty pumped about it.

This all started a few weeks ago when I had a chat with my friend and yoga teacher about which direction I’d like to take my life in after recently finishing a contract role. I mentioned that I enjoyed writing and hoped to have some articles published in different online publications someday, like elephant journal. To which her reply was just do it! I stared blankly at her like she was crazy, so she told me to write her something about what I am experiencing right now and she would take a look at it. She gave me a week.

To be honest, I felt panicked about this. Even though I currently write and share stories on this blog, I felt even more nervous about writing something for just one person to read. But, I did it. A week later I sent her my article and she gave me great feedback and told me to send it. So, a few days later I prepared my submission and sent it into elephant journal with my fingers crossed. And well, the rest is history! I really would not have sent something this soon without her extra push, and I thank her for that.

You can check out the post HERE, titled To Teach or Not to Teach. In this post I share some more private details about my life and how I am working to stay on the path I love, instead of returning to old patterns. It was a little scary to write, but I am definitely glad it is out there now. Check it out, let me know what you think, leave me some comment love if you have a minute.

Hopefully you’ll be seeing more of me on elephant journal in the future. Just have to keep putting it out there! ॐ

Logo from elephantjournal.com

Yoga Weekend Bliss…

Now that I’ve had the time to let the adventures of this past weekend sink in, I wanted to sit down to write and reflect on the awesome events I had the pleasure of participating in. It was a yoga filled weekend, and even now I am still feeling the buzz that comes from this great practice.

On Saturday I had the honour of attending Yoga Unite here in Toronto, which is a fundraiser in support of the New Leaf Yoga Foundation. For those unfamiliar, New Leaf is a non-profit that offers yoga programs to youth who are facing barriers such as neglect, abuse, involvement with the criminal justice system, socio-economic issues and more. Needless to say, this is an amazing organization doing great things with the youth in the community who deserve access to healthy activities, such as yoga.

The event had silent auction items (of which I won one!), massages by donation, Vega samples, live music, and more which everyone was able to take part in before and after the yoga. Right away I will tell you that the yoga class taught by Chantal Wade, Ella Isakov, Duncan Parviainen, Ashley Holly, and Jordana Halpert was AH-mazing. These teachers were able to make this class flow seamlessly, which was certainly helped by the transcending music of Darren Austin Hall. Darren sang, played the guitar, and the crystal singing bowls so well that I felt like I was taken away out of the room, out of Toronto even, and placed in a yoga sanctuary. Seriously, if you have never experienced crystal bowls before, give it a try. Right now. The vibrations from the sounds are extremely relaxing and healing, I just can’t get enough. I left this event on such a yoga high that it was difficult to imagine topping this afternoon spent with friends and the community, all while giving back to such a great organization.

Sunday followed up with another afternoon spent in the bliss of yoga. This time in a workshop held by Ashley Holly and Jordana Halpert called Vision Flow. This workshop involved the theme of ‘letting go’ paired with restorative yoga poses and guided meditation. For those that know me, guided meditation works best for me right now, so this practice was both relaxing and revealing. Ashley and Jordana work very well together, again seamlessly, transitioning between sections of the class with no effort or disruption to flow and relaxation. I left this class feeling so serene, I barely remember the hour long transit ride home. I was off in yoga-mind-land somewhere and it was great.

In the end, this past weekend had me feeling positive and in a sense, ready to take on the world. Such an amazing feeling, that I don’t want to lose it. Situations will arise that will challenge this feeling and the key is just to take things as they come and never let that feeling of positivity and hope go. Being surrounded by passionate and engaging people certainly helps and I am very glad to have made these connections since living in this new city. I look forward to what is next and am taking it one day at a time, it’s the best we can really do. ॐ

Setting up at Yoga Unite

What do you run with…?

Does anyone else out there run with their cell phone?

First, I do like to have my phone with me in case anything happens or if I’m waiting for a really important call. And second, I use my phone as my GPS to track my runs with the app MiCoach by Adidas. I’m only a 5K runner, but I still like to track my runs and see my progress (or note when I have bad days and why). The thing is, my phone is a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. If you’ve seen this phone, you know it’s HUGE. Any time I use this phone, I get numerous comments thrown at me including ‘what the hell is that?’ and ‘who uses their tablet as a phone?’

Some people even think I’m crazy for running with this phone.

There are no arm bands for this thing, it would take up my whole upper arm, so I run with it in my jacket pocket. This suits me just fine for now, even though it can be heavy. The problem will be when the warmer weather hits and I won’t want to wear my running jacket. The option that is left is to run with it in my hand, but I seriously don’t want to sweat all over my phone on a hot day and I certainly don’t want to drop it.

So, my question is… what do you run with? Do you use your phone, iPod, or some kind of cool watch to track your runs?

I know I’m going to need an alternate way to track my runs soon, but I have no idea what I should get. Some of the watches look cool, but sound really technical sometimes. I just like to track my distance, time, and pace most of the time, so I don’t need it to be super techie. And if it links up to a program or site for tracking over time, even better! Plus, I’m budget conscious, so it makes the decision even funner. Time to do my research!  ॐ

Comforting Thai Chicken Soup…

A couple weeks ago I had a crazy craving for some type of Thai chicken soup, but I also wanted to use up items I had in my fridge. So, I googled a bunch of different Thai chicken soup recipes to see what kinds of ingredients are usually included, double checked what I had, and then put together my improvised version.

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (diced into smaller cubes)

2 cups low sodium, organic chicken broth (or make your own)

1-2 bunches bok choy (chopped)

1-2 handfuls snap peas

2 tsp ginger

2 cloves garlic

2+ tbsp red curry paste

1/2 to a full can lite coconut milk (to taste, I used a 1/2 can)

1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

2 tbsps worcestershire sauce (this is what I had on hand!)

1/2 lime

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (to taste)

Sea salt and pepper to taste

vermicelli rice noodles (optional)

Instructions

In a frying pan add 1 tbsp of coconut oil and once melted add in the chopped up chicken. Cook until no longer pink in the middle.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot add 2 cups chicken broth with the cloves of garlic, ginger, salt and pepper, bring to a simmer. Add red curry paste (2 tbsp or more to taste) and mix well.

Add bok choy, snap peas, and half cilantro to broth. Add in 1/2 to full can of coconut milk and worcestershire sauce and stir well. Add cooked chicken and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Spritz in soup a half of a lime and stir.

Before serving, prepare vermicelli rice noodles if you would like to add them to the soup. If not, this soup is also great without them.

Add desired amount of noodles to bowl, then soup mixture, and top with remaining fresh cilantro on top.

(Note – you can make this spicier with Thai chilis if that’s your thing or use fish sauce instead of the worcestershire)

I absolutely love this soup and had fun throwing it together with random items I had in my fridge. Of course, I was even happier when it turned out well. Enjoy! : )  ॐ

Doesn’t that look good?

16 things you can do to get out of the ‘dumps’…

pic via My Holistic Coach on Facebook

Let’s say you’re having a bad day… ok, week. You’re having a bad week. It happens to all of us – could be that things just aren’t connecting, you received some bad news, got laid off, had a bad break-up, etc – these things happen to each and every one of us. How we react is what sets us apart.

Some people have the ability to brush things off and keep moving forward, and then there are those of us who don’t take these situations as easily. Each response is neither good or bad unless the brushing off becomes avoidance and the difficulty dealing becomes depression. Hopefully in these situations we have the awareness to acknowledge the path we are going down and seek help, so that we can keep our heads above water in tough times.

I will be honest here, sometimes I handle things relatively well, sometimes badly, and occasionally avoidance. It can depend on the situation really. But during times when my reaction is sadness, I have to find ways to get myself up and out of the ‘dumps’.

How do you pick yourself up after a bad day (errr, week)? Here’s a list I’m starting, what can you add to it?

1. Talk to friends – best friends know exactly what to say, whether we want to hear it or not. Reach out and don’t be ashamed today.

2. Watch funny movies – laughter can be uplifting and funny movies can take our minds off our troubles for a little while.

3. Listen to music that lifts you up – dance around the house if you have to!

4. Listen to music that makes you cry – sounds weird, right? Nope. If you’re holding in something and needing a release, cry away here.

5. Spend time with family – being with that special person you connect with in your family can be very healing.

6. Get outside – get some fresh air, go for a walk, run in puddles… just get out there!

7. Do some Yoga – you had to know I would say this one. If it’s not in the budget, try doing it at home or seeking out karma/free classes in your area. You’ll be glad you went.

8. Exercise – go running, get a workout done, go walking, do a fitness DVD, doesn’t matter to me. Just get those endorphins going!

9. Eat healthy, whole foods – food is medicine, so have a look for great mood boosting foods that are healthy and whole (no junk food, sorry!).

10. Read a good book – take your mind off things with a great novel or pick up a book that could be helpful for what you are going through. Motivational books can be inspiration to getting you back on track.

11. Journal – write your feelings out in a journal, record motivational phrases, write about what you are grateful for, draw pictures… anything that helps you feel better.

12. Eat dark chocolate – ok, this one might just be for me, but a few bites of delicious dark chocolate can really hit the spot. Don’t eat the whole bar though, don’t want to feel worse or end up on a weird caffeine/sugar high ; )

13. Play with your pets – have a dog or cat? Spend time playing with your pets, this can really bring a smile to your face. Take your dog for a walk and enjoy the scenery together while getting exercise – fun!

14. Avoid things that anger you more – if social media is getting to you or bringing drama into your life, avoid it for awhile. You can do it and you will feel better for taking time away to do other things.

15. Do the little things you love – do you like crafts? Coffee? Cheesecake? Then go ahead and do the little things that make you happy and don’t feel guilty about it. But, remember moderation. Have a nice small cup of coffee, not the whole pot. Grab a few things to start your scrapbooking, don’t buy out the whole Michael’s store. See what I’m getting at? : )

16. Meditation – now, this may bring up more thoughts and issues in the beginning, but working through them and taking the time to meditate can be very rewarding. Start with guided meditation for 5 minutes and be easy on yourself.

17. Check out the Humour category of Pinterest – submitted by @JDtrains as something you can do if you need to brighten up right away (ie., at work). Scroll through these, you’ll laugh for sure.

(I’m not claiming to be a medical doctor or have all the answers, but just want to share the little things that have helped me pick up after a tough day. If you feel like things may be a bit more serious in your situation, please seek out help in your family or with a doctor. Take care and be gentle with yourself.) ॐ

Bad yoga day…

What do you do when you have a ‘bad yoga day’?

You head to class with the best intentions, have a delicious protein smoothie an hour before, and once you get on the mat you are uncoordinated and floppy… How do you react?

Well, today I didn’t react in the best way. I focused on how my poses were going wrong. I over-thought about why my balance wasn’t with me today, and I started to let it fester in my mind. Not a good idea mid-yoga class.

Not a good idea in general.

This doesn’t happen to me too often in yoga, this is usually the time I take away from berating myself. But every 2-3 months or so, I have the kind of class where I let my mind get the best of me and go down a negative road in the class. My inner voice starts telling me I’m not good enough to do this class, I’m too clumsy, I can’t do the poses as well as everyone else there… Etc etc. Even while this conversation is going on in my mind, I know it’s a bad idea. I know I need to stop it and just go with the flow of the class.

But it’s not always that easy, is it?

I already know that our bodies respond differently and can feel different each and every day. So sometimes, just like bad running days, I can have ‘bad yoga days’. And that’s ok. We’re not at optimal performance every single day, even if we want to be. Sometimes that little bit of sleep we missed can affect us. Maybe something else going on in our lives is tying up our mind. And maybe, just maybe, the time change throws us off a little bit. (Anyone else feeling a little sluggish?!)

Presently, I think I have a lot on my mind and I wasn’t fully letting it go for the yoga class today. Other thoughts were creeping up in my mind when I was supposed to be focusing on the flow and the enjoyment of the poses. And I have to realize that it’s going to happen sometimes and that it’s not the worst thing in the world. I also have to work on letting it go when these things creep up in my mind. I’m usually pretty good, but I find verbal and visual queues can be helpful.

Maybe the teacher sensed my tenseness, maybe she could read my face when I was struggling in balance poses, but she gave the right verbal queues when I needed to hear them. She told us to breathe and say in our minds “let go”, which after a few breaths really started to work. My mind went to that mantra and the negative thoughts started to fall off me to the floor. I dropped them for the rest of the class and even still feel pretty good as I’m writing this a few hours later. Amazing how those two little words can adjust your thought pattern and bring about peace in your mind. That’s powerful.

In the end, I probably shouldn’t say it was a ‘bad yoga day’, but it was an experience. It was part of the journey. And it served as an awesome reminder that when the mind is going places that don’t serve us, switch up the thoughts, say a mantra and move the mind into a more peaceful place. This doesn’t just apply to yoga classes either, do this anytime… At work, on the bus, in a long checkout line. Whenever you feel like your mind is wandering into a dark place, work on your own little mantra and bring it out into the light. We can do this!  ॐ

Have you ever had a ‘bad yoga day’? How did you turn it around?

My new favourite smoothie…

I know you’ve been sitting there wondering… wondering what I have for breakfast to start my day.  How does Yogi Crystal start her day off right you ask?

Well, I will tell you!

This is my new smoothie obsession right now and I wanted to share it with you. It’s so tasty it almost makes you forget that it’s healthy and full of the good stuff for energy.

Keep in mind my measurements are for a Magic Bullet single cup, so if you’re using a blender for one you can do the same but double up if making for two people.

Raspberry Almond Butter Smoothie Yumminess

Ingredients

1 cup raspberries (frozen is nice for a different texture and keeping the smoothie cool)

1 cup blueberries

1/2 banana

1 to 2 tbsp almond butter

1 tbsp ground flax, 1 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup soy or almond milk

25g whey protein (for females, 40g for males) – or a protein of your choice depending on dietary lifestyle

optional – add a little water if it’s thick after mixing

Instructions

In a Magic Bullet cup or your blender add in berries, banana, flax and hemp seeds, cinnamon, almond butter, and milk. Blend until mixed well. Add in protein and blend for another 20 to 30 seconds. Pour into an awesome glass of your choice and enjoy!  ॐ

What’s your smoothie obsession right now?

I drank most of it before snapping a picture, that’s how good it is!