Smile and the World Smiles with You!
Observations of a Fifty Something Housewife

BY MAGAZINE COLUMNIST MORA HECHT

While waiting in line at the eatery, ‘witchcraft, in New York’s Rockefeller Center over the holidays, a woman behind me blurted out, “You must not be from New York. You’re too friendly.” I had apologized for speaking over her for my children’s lunch orders.

And then, as it so often happens, a conversation ensued.

I learned she was once a native, but retired to Florida years ago. She spoke in a raspy, smoked too many unfiltered cigarettes voice about her visit with her boyfriend. He was petrified to cross the streets she confided, overwhelmed by the crowds and generally looked to be having a pretty miserable time. He stood meekly behind her, eyes cast downward. I’m sure there was more to their story, but I could feel my husband staring me down; time to move on.

I’m the recipient of a lot of eye rolling from my family, who claim I’m often too sociable to people I don’t know. Perhaps I am, but, it’s not my fault if people find me comfortably familiar. And if you ask me, we are all in this together. Besides, I am not always the perpetrator of such conversations. Sometimes, they find me.

The woman who stocks for Hallmark at my local market, Nancy, likes to converse while I browse the card aisle. She started it first. I swear. Barbara in shoes and Annie, the merchandiser at 
Saks, Joe at the bank, all like to share a tale or two.

My husband suggests I make people cry. That only happened once.

McDonald’s Fries, a Coke and a Good Cry

I was eating lunch in an overcrowded Philadelphia McDonald’s when I offered to share my booth with a cute little elderly woman who had nowhere to sit. I was newly married and in the city for a job interview. I asked if she had any children when she cried the first time.

By the time we finished lunch she had wept into her napkin three more times.

I felt awful for my apparent lack of discretion, but as we parted ways she smiled and thanked me profusely for the company and I watched as her small frame was swept up onto the crowded pavement. I was relieved and happy for the connection.

Shrinking the Universe

During my one and only retail experience at Anthropologie I found my true calling. As a sales associate I reported to “zones” throughout the day; the front end a perfect fit. As customers arrived, I cheerfully greeted each and every one.

I admit after a few years the lines became somewhat blurred between work and recreation. I was a perpetual “welcome wagon” of good cheer. Salutations abounded to anyone in my path, spilling over from work to parking lots, restaurants, even the grocery store.

Frankly, I began to annoy myself. Even I was too cheerful for me. But, for the most part, I really can’t see the harm in a little friendly exchange; it makes the universe just a little smaller.

Choosing Happiness!

With age comes experience and as I have settled into my fifties I wake up each morning and know I can choose “happy.” It is easier to go out into the world with a smile, even in the most difficult of circumstances. I’ve charmed many a waitress, sales clerk, ticket agent, and mother-in-law from sullen into cheerful dispositions. It’s a gift. Someone once told me I don’t have the power to change a person’s circumstances. Maybe not, but if I can spread some joy and happiness, isn’t it worth the attempt?

Rain on my parade if you will, but, just for the record, as I walked one morning from our hotel in Battery Park City, to my daughter’s apartment, winding around the buildings along the Hudson River, I smiled at everyone I passed.

Even in this New York state of “mind your own business,” everyone smiled back.

Read Mora all month long, blogging with her pearls on, at Is Anybody Else Hot?

]]> http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/31/is-anybody-else-hot-12-31/feed/ 0 http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/30/really-healthy-2011-favorites-recipe-box/ http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/30/really-healthy-2011-favorites-recipe-box/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:05:48 +0000 The Magazine of Yoga Staff http://themagazineofyoga.com/?p=26494
Photos: ©Sally Pasley Vargas SallyPasleyVargas.com; ©Natalie Lewis Dailycrave.com; ©Tram Le NutritionToKitchen.com

Carrot Ginger Soup, Brussel Sprout Salad, and Chocolate Covered Cranberry Fruit Jellies

BY THE MAGAZINE OF YOGA STAFF

We love searching for the best of the best from food blogs all over the world, but like Dorothy, we must conclude that “there’s no place like home.” For the final Really Healthy of 2011 we’d like to feature the web pages of our beloved columnists and contributors. We celebrate their innovation, super gorgeous photography, humor, and dedication to food and cooking that is not just healthy, but both delicious and fun to eat.

Sally Pasley Vargas’s gorgeous blog, Cooking Lessons, sported a makeover earlier this season, and both Tram Le’s Nutrition to Kitchen and Natalie Lewis’s Daily Crave have brand new looks for the New Year. Exploration will be richly rewarded with creativity, beauty and recipes that you’ll want to make over and over again.

Real Life Is Real Yoga

We especially want to honor Tram, who embodies courage, resolve, indomitability and the yoga of real life.

Tram was in a horrific automobile accident in November of 2010. She suffered a traumatic brain injury. At the time of the accident, she was pregnant, and gave birth to her baby prematurely. Tram spent months in the hospital, and many more in painstaking rehabilitation. With love, support and a reserve of tenacity and courage that leaves us awestruck, Tram is back to cooking, blogging, and raising her baby with her husband.

Please join us in sending Tram warm wishes for continued recovery, success with her blog, and in wishing her and her family a very happy and healthy New Year, filled with the every day joy of living.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Whether you need a go-to soup for a winter lunch, or a comforting “day after” tonic for January 1st, this perfect in its simplicity Carrot Ginger Soup exceeds expectation. Fresh carrots are balanced with mild pearl onions and a zing of grated ginger in this soothing and flavorful soup.

Photo: ©Tram Le NutritionToKitchen.com

Brussel Sprout Salad

You will convert even the most avid of brussel sprout naysayers with this preparation. Caramelized shredded brussel sprouts are tossed with dried cranberries, pecans, parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon. Seconds, please!

Photo: ©Natalie Lewis Dailycrave.com

Cranberry Jellies Covered in Chocolate

“So very French and so very beautiful” and so very irresistible, we might add! These stunning Cranberry Jellies dipped in Chocolate would make wonderful gifts if only you could keep yourself and your family from devouring them! Sally makes the daunting project of candy-making easy and fun with her step-by-step instructions.

Photo: ©Sally Pasley Vargas SallyPasleyVargas.com

]]> http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/30/really-healthy-2011-favorites-recipe-box/feed/ 0 http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/29/read-my-mantra-you-miserable/ http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/29/read-my-mantra-you-miserable/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:05:45 +0000 Susan Blood http://themagazineofyoga.com/?p=26135
All Graphics: ©The Magazine of Yoga

It’s like I’m destroying everything that’s good and right before someone else does. No one can dismiss what’s important to me if I’ve already dismissed it myself.

BY MAGAZINE COLUMNIST SUSAN BLOOD

For the record, “f#@ you, you miserable @#k” is not a good mantra.

I know this because I looked up mantra in the dictionary:

1. Hinduism A sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a god, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities.
2. A commonly repeated word or phrase
 - thefreedictionary.com

So while it is technically a mantra (per definition two), it is not a good one. Specifically, it does not invoke the kind of god I want to invoke. Even I can see that. After commonly repeating it for a couple of hours, I have a headache and stomach cramps.

Self destructive behavior: its varieties, plus bleach

In all fairness, if it is a clean house you’re looking for, this mantra does work. In my anger I washed everything. I threw things away. And as a final “&#@ you” to everything that had pushed me over the edge, I used bleach. Just because I’m a pacifist doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes feel like killing stuff.

I stopped short of going to the grocery store and buying an arsenal of cleaning products that would eventually need to be taken to town hall on the day they collect all the stuff they beg you not to throw in the landfill. The crazy person in my head knows stupidly self-destructive behavior when it sees it.

I prefer smart self-destructive behavior. It’s so much more… self-destructive.

You don’t like the way I live my life? Fine. I will take everything that gives this house life and I will burn it in a big pile in the yard. Bad microbes! Good microbes! Crayon drawings of baby deer that say “I love you mommy.”  In the pile they go! Ha ha! That will sure teach THEM.

It’s like I’m trying to destroy everything that’s good and right before someone else does. No one can dismiss what’s important to me if I’ve already dismissed it myself.

A quiet inner voice amid the demonic laughter

In the still, small moments of sanity that follow these outbursts, I know that none of this does a single thing to “them,” aside from giving them a reason to label me as clinically insane.

Recently I had to extricate myself from an awkward situation. I knew the other party would never admit to wrongdoing and that eventually their actions would effect my reputation. During hundreds of hours of imagined arguments, I laid out all the ways that they were wrong and I was right. I had many private temper tantrums. I was sure that if I blew up all my metaphorical bridges, no metaphorical jury would convict. They might even cheer me.

I was also sure that when you run away from something, it pops up in another form as soon as the dust clears.

Although the situation wasn’t domestic, I kept thinking of Elin Nordegren and my mantra became swing no golf clubs.

It’s amazing, the physiological difference you experience when you chant those two mantras.

f#@ you, you miserable @#k, versus Swing no golf clubs.

“Swing no golf clubs” feels like a deep-breathing exercise. The other one feels like a hyperventilating exercise.

The raw and the cooked

There are things in this world that can and should make us angry. This isn’t about anger management. This is about defending our tender insides from our own clumsy flailing. It’s okay to be angry. It’s not okay to inadvertently destroy ourselves as a mode of expressing that anger.

If you must swing a golf club, don’t hit yourself in the head. And if you must blow up a bridge, make sure you’re not standing on it.

The iconic Susan Blood also writes Trout Towers and operabetty.com.

]]> http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/29/read-my-mantra-you-miserable/feed/ 0 http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/28/life-happens/ http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/28/life-happens/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:05:39 +0000 Jessica Lesley http://themagazineofyoga.com/?p=26106
Graphics: ©The Magazine of Yoga™

Studio managers and students told me I was a great teacher, yet I was losing all of my classes. Were people just “being nice” when they thanked me after class?

BY MAGAZINE COLUMNIST JESSICA LESLEY

Most of us have routines set up in our lives. As a teacher I see a lot of it in the asana room, rolling out the mat, gathering props, spraying water onto towels so we don’t slip. Most people are even very particular as to where they place their mat in the room.

What is more intriguing is how even the most subtle changes throw some of us off track. When the front row is full and a yogi who is clearly a front row practitioner walks in, there is a moment of confusion as they look around the room trying to accept that their row is full.

We know and deliberately work with subtle changes in the body that have a profound impact on our practice – keeping the core active, engaging mula bandha, or relaxing the shoulders. Habits such as where we are in the room and small postural movements can completely change the way we feel when we practice.

Lately life has mirrored the subtle changes in the asana room in a less than subtle way outside the studio. Unexpected changes have put my practice to the test off the mat. Just when I found myself in a comfortable routine of teaching weekly classes everything changed.  

Hindsight and hard lessons

In my overzealous efforts to find teaching gigs, I ended up with 17 classes per week. I paid no mind to how far the drive, how high the gas prices, or how exhausting the commute alone would all be, let alone holding space and teaching classes in so many different places. All that mattered was that I was doing what I set out to do – teaching! 

In hindsight this was all very ego and fear driven. It felt good to be teaching at so many studios and I was (and still am) terrified of not getting the bills paid each month. Speaking of hindsight, I can also say I was quite careless with the work that I accepted; this may sound odd given the high rate of unemployment (especially here in California) but let me explain. 

Being a new teacher in a town wall-to-wall in yoga teachers, many of who are very well known and grace magazine covers can be challenging to say the least. I operated in such a state of fear and desperation that I took time slots that I knew would be difficult to fill. I revisited the hour long commute that I despised during my corporate days, driving two hours round trip for a 50 minute class. 

Business began to slow down at one of the first places I was hired, a physical therapy clinic, so my 3 classes were dropped. Shortly before that I signed on at a second physical therapy clinic. The space was small and they seemed to be struggling to find/keep clientele. So like many other studios, the owners decided to join forces with one of those online daily deal sites. You know the ones: One month unlimited yoga for the price of one class! 

This sounds great as a consumer but I always wonder how it fares for the business. Well I found out. 

A real “crash course” in studio economics

First, frantic emails were sent out to teachers to immediately cut our class rates. Then even more frantic request to not cash paychecks until the following week. Finally a “going out of business” email arrived. About 5 weeks after I started, an email went out notifying all employees that the business was closing. 

One line from that email still stays with me: Please pick up your check tomorrow morning and cash it – immediately. This was bad. In addition, just as studios and clinics where I was teaching were falling victim to the economy, class attendance in tough time slots began to run low, too. In my rush to fill up my schedule, I gave no real thought to how many people would be off work at those hours or who would leave work to attend a class.

I had studio managers and students tell me they thought I was a great teacher, yet I was losing all of my classes. Were people just “being nice” when they thanked me after class? Losing classes and low attendance triggered insecurities. I started to pick every aspect of my teaching style a part.

Was my sequence challenging enough? My playlist too risqué?

Out of touch with the personal connection

Maybe I seemed to lack personality since I never hung out to chat with students since I always had to rush off to my next class. I feel it would be a bit careless of me now not to consider how this may have come across to my students.

We all want to be seen. I’ve become friends with many of my own teachers through after class chats and giggles, and I’ve begun to recognize how important that is. I regret not planning in time to interact with people who came to my classes. Unfortunately I put myself in a situation where that interaction was nearly impossible. 

Each employer who dropped a class I taught went out of their way to explain why it was happening, but I couldn’t take it in. All I could hear was “Get OUT we don’t like you!” In a matter of weeks I went from teaching 17 classes a week to teaching one. Things got very dark for a few days as my anxiety and self-criticism began to take over my logical thinking.

In sync with new energy and renewed vision

After a few emotional venting sessions and pity parties, I have been able to pull back from beating on myself to learn, and to find new wisdom in this situation. Just as we have to adjust to what happens in the asana room, I had to step back and find out where I could accept change and where I could simply modify. 

I am slowly adding classes back to my schedule but not in the same rushed and fear driven method as before. Navigating my career path has now become a practice in mindfulness. I’m learning now to push past my own fears, and to really focus on the people that show up. I’m trusting that if I set my intention and do the work, “all is coming.”

Super sweet and super smart, Jessica is quadruple certified in yoga and in fitness! Trained in anatomy, asana and positive practice, she’s experienced in supporting her students as they get present to their challenges with compassion and courage. When you visit her website jessicalesley.com be sure to read her surprising and powerful personal journey. Watch for Jessica’s adventures in teaching column monthly in The Magazine of Yoga!

When I’m in the space of flow, time becomes irrelevant as one action melts into the next. Minutes seem like seconds, and at the same time they could be hours.

BY HENRY CHUNG

Gallery RHV Fine Art New York

Current exhibition Jerry Walden December 11th – January 22nd
RHV 683 6th Ave Brooklyn, NY 11215 (718) 473-0819
Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 2 – 7pm

The Magazine of Yoga Six of 1: The Arts Interview

One

Is being in a flow or a particular kind of space part of creating or part of working for you? Can you describe anything about it – how you get it, what it feels like?
Being “in the flow” is definitely an important part of working. The difficult part is finding that flow. For me, it’s either there or not. When it’s not there I would rather do something else than to try to squeeze a half drop of creativity our of myself. The hope is that the “something else” will indirectly lead me back to the flow. I think forcing yourself to work when you’re not in the flow can only lead to bad art.

The feeling of being in the flow is a combination of a sense of drive, the realization of ideas, constant inspiration, and unbroken focus. When I’m in this space, time becomes irrelevant as one action melts into the next. Minutes seem like seconds, and at the same time they could be hours.

Two

T.S. Eliot famously said, “There is no method except to be very intelligent.”
Yes, no? Maybe so?
I think “intelligent” is a dangerous word. Intelligence has the connotation of being scientifically quantifiable, and I don’t want to touch that with a ten-foot pole. I would rather believe that one has to be very thoughtful. I feel that artists who approach their artwork with both depth and breadth in meaning and intent create the most compelling work.

Three

Is there some place or attitude you begin from in yourself when you look
at art by other people?
Ideally, one ought to approach artwork with a blank slate and a clear and open mind in order to appreciate the work without any preconceptions of what it should be. Unfortunately, I don’t live in a blank world and my mind is filled with all sorts of junk. I can’t help but connect the dots between what’s in front of me and what’s already familiar to me. Art that appeals to me usually has a strong conceptual underpinning, and the artwork that I appreciate the most are those that puts a new conceptual dot in my head to connect to.

Four

Does anything (consistently/ frequently/ randomly) move you to make art? How did you find yourself making the kind of art or the particular work you are involved in now?
One thing that consistently moves me to make art is seeing art. I think that one of the best qualities of art is that it inspires. Seeing a great piece of art moves me to strive to make my work equally as inspiring.

I also draw a lot of inspiration from science and technology. Like science and technology, art has a never ending appetite for innovation. There is a constant push to put aside what is current for the next thing. Much of my current body of work takes the obsolete bits left behind by technology to make the “next thing” in my artwork.

Five

Favorite overheard remark

Father: “Donny, use a tissue for that.”
3-year-old son: “No, that’s all right. I already got it with my finger.”

Six

I’d rather be…
traveling to far flung places

Half a Dozen of One/ Six of the Other

Six words my gallerist/ artist’s statement/ mother use to describe my work:
memory, identity, anonymity, ghostly, nostalgia, obsolescence

Six words my best friend would use to describe me:
stubborn, goofy, smart(-ass), impatient, cheery, wordy

Six words to repeat:
love, peace, happiness, joy, virtue, pride

Six words to ignore:
hate, selfishness, greed, arrogance, ego, pride

Six artists to look at:
Marcel Duchamp, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dieter Roth, Laurie Anderson, Chuck Close

Six places to find yourself in:
the studio, the gallery, Brooklyn, Hong Kong, flea markets, thrift stores

Each drawing is not only a finished work that represents a place, but it is also a reflection of the hand of the artist, the act of making lines.

BY ROBERT WALDEN

Ontological Roadmaps

Ontology is a central theme throughout my work because it deals with the nature of existence or being by analyzing concepts about essence, substance, time, location, space, and identity.

My work addresses these ideas by building upon physical, temporal, and literal metaphors that are often used to convey ideas about a process as well as a product.

For instance, each drawing is not only a finished work that represents a place, but it is also a reflection of the hand of the artist, the act of making lines. Each of these drawings involves a labor-intensive process where much time is needed for construction and development.

Once the drawing is complete, it is a picture of time. That is, each drawing reveals the time it takes to make a road map and then each finished drawing actually represents that time. All along, there is a literal play on mapping.

Each drawing represents a process (of mapmaking, of creating roads) and a place (a representation of existence that can be either real or imagined).

Artist’s Gallery RHV Fine Art New York

RHV 683 6th Ave Brooklyn, NY 11215 (718) 473-0819
Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 2 – 7pm

Image: Ontological Road Map 123110 (detail) ©Robert Walden

The Magazine of Yoga Six of 1: The Arts Interview

One

Is being in a flow or a particular kind of space part of creating or part of working for you? Can you describe anything about it – how you get it, what it feels like?
No, not that I am aware of. Your question implies that art is made from some sort of well of personal or cosmic emotion. Expressionistic art may come from some sort of emotional space within the artist, but my work could not be described as expressionistic or emotional…philosophical, perhaps? For me, completing a drawing can be an arduous sometimes tedious task. I make tiny, repetitious lines over and over again and do, at times, reach a meditative-like state while drawing but this is not a space where my work comes from, but rather an effect of making it.

Two

T.S. Eliot famously said, “There is no method except to be very intelligent.”
Yes, no? Maybe so?
Yes…the most intelligent people know when to quit.

Three

Is there some place or attitude you begin from in yourself when you look
at art by other people?
No. But I do “know”, either by sight or feeling, almost instantly, if I am intrigued enough to explore further. This doesn’t mean I am close minded…but discriminating. That said, art worth looking at once is worth looking at and thinking about over and over.

Image: Ontological Road Map 123110 ©Robert Walden

Four

Does anything (consistently/ frequently/ randomly) move you to make art? How did you find yourself making the kind of art or the particular work you are involved in now?
4a Yes and no…as with many artists I think I am compelled to make work. I don’t know why. This compulsion is there and that is all there is to it. When I am not making something I always feel an urge to be doing so.

4b The work I am making now began when I was a kid creating my own city designs both similar and very dissimilar to the aerial photos of Italian hill towns I saw in books or the designs of the utopian Modernists Le Corbusier and others. The work I am currently making looks very different, of course, but my thinking about urban space began when I was very young. After college a friend and fellow artist was visiting my studio and saw a doodle that I had made of a fictitious city map while I was having a conversation earlier that day. He encouraged me to think about that doodle more seriously. So, I did and now 17 years later here I am.

Five

Favorite overheard remark
I can’t say I remember an overheard remark but one of my favorite quotes is from W.C. Fields,

According to you everything I like to do is illegal, immoral or fattening.”

Image: Ontological Road Map 110810 (detail) ©Robert Walden

Six

I’d rather be…
I’d rather be doing absolutely nothing…doing gets in the way of living.

Half a Dozen of One/ Six of the Other

I am partial to neither…or maybe both…but either way it is all the same to me…but, then again…I could be wrong?

Six words my gallerist/ artist’s statement/ mother use to describe my work:
From my artist statement: Essence, substance, time, location, space, and identity

Six words my best friend would use to describe me:
Gentleman, Idealistic, Generous, Kind, Forgiving, Funny

Six words to repeat:
Consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency

Six words to ignore:
avant-garde, trend, fad, success, wealth and greed

Six artists to look at:
Robert Smithson, Le Corbusier, Erik Satie, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Rogier van der Weyden, Tara Donovan

Six places to find yourself in:
Amsterdam, Lisbon, wilderness, NYC, London and a secluded beach

Image: Ontological Road Map 110810 ©Robert Walden

This week’s free wallpaper download:
Martin Luther.

BY THE MAGAZINE OF YOGA STAFF

Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.
~ Martin Luther

Click or right-click the image below to download this @magofyoga graphic!

Wallpaper graphic background photo: DaGoaty, cc.

Different screen size? 1280×800 Wallpaper too!

]]> http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/26/the-writing-on-the-wallpaper-12-26/feed/ 0 http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/25/quotable-week-12-25/ http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/25/quotable-week-12-25/#comments Sun, 25 Dec 2011 05:05:49 +0000 The Magazine of Yoga Staff http://themagazineofyoga.com/?p=26538
Graphics: ©The Magazine of Yoga™

The Weekly Post Review

Favorite quotes and excerpts

BY THE MAGAZINE OF YOGA STAFF

CORINNA BARSAN
On The Lit Mat: Top Reads For Your Holiday List

Fruit cake lasts a week,
a book lasts a lifetime.

RUTH FARMER
Thinking My Own Thoughts

An afternoon sitting next to the pond, watching
dragonflies skim the water. Two days of retreat.
No cell phone, no Wi-Fi. Just a little gunfire.

TALI KOZIOL
Book Review: The Heart Of Yoga

A handbook for living.

EMMANUELLE LAMBERT
Music Matters

Everyday rhythms, the soundtrack of life.
Same commute, different people: you each
have your journey in your ears.

MAGAZINE STAFF
The Writing On The Wall(Paper)

This week’s free wallpaper
download: The Dalai Lama.

MAGAZINE STAFF
Really Healthy: Winter Warmers

There’s a whole wonderful world of drink
choices just perfect for curling up under
grandma’s quilt on a cold snowy winter’s eve!

]]> http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/25/quotable-week-12-25/feed/ 0 http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/24/music-matters-12-24/ http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/24/music-matters-12-24/#comments Sat, 24 Dec 2011 05:05:07 +0000 Emmanuelle Lambert http://themagazineofyoga.com/?p=26296
Graphics: ©The Magazine of Yoga™

The soundtrack of a deeply lived life: part music, part ambient environment, part rain, wind and nature. Oh – and part Lovely Boyfriend!

BY MAGAZINE COLUMNIST EMMANUELLE LAMBERT

Sitting on my couch, watching a documentary on French television. Music, slamming door noises as images of some prison appear on the screen, foot steps getting louder and louder. Then the noises stop, music remains, and voice over starts. The soundtrack to a quiet evening, only accompanied by my typing on my laptop. And occasionally, a kitty starts purring. Not on telly, but on my lap.

Music, morning …

Sitting on a chair in my kitchen, radio on, furious hungry meowing on too. Water for my tea is getting hotter and hotter in my boiler, bread is getting toasted and will soon jump out of the toaster. I can hear the sound of the water from upstairs as Lovely Boyfriend showers. The soundtrack to another morning, possibly made better by my singing in just-woke-up-but-still-managed-to-do-agni-sara pitched voice.
 
Sitting on the tram to the office. I have my headphones on, listening to a podcast. The voice is soon covered up by the noises of the old tramway, creaking and screeching on the rails, by the people talking, to each other or on the phone (how can one talk so loudly on the phone when it is not even 9 o’clock ? and yes, singing at breakfast is on the contrary perfectly acceptable), cars passing by, the usual scenario at rush hour.

The soundtrack to another Monday morning, while you are barely awake.

noon …

Sitting on the tram from the office on the way to teach a private yoga class. Headphones on, again, most likely listening to once-despised “yoga music”. The odds are good that Deva Premal is now chanting her version of the Guru Rinpoche Mantra, and she is quickly followed by Claire Missingham and her Ganesha Sharanam. Now the tube, the underground world. The noises again, hand in hand with their friends the smells. Noise & Smell, the ever present, ever overpowering duo living underground. The soundtrack to a day of work ending, another day of work starting.
 
Sitting on the tram on the way home. It’s late already, the streets and tube stations are calmer. It is late, but not the night yet. It is that time of the day we call in France « entre chien et loup », between dog and wolf, when the respectable day leaves and makes space for the treacherous night. The noisy hustle and bustle of the city dwellers has gone, only replaced by fewer trams, going faster now that the streets are clearer.

… and night

Headphones on, again listening to a podcast, only covered by the noises of this new tram, much more modern, less loud, more swift, you can feel it and hear it go while you’re in its belly. Noise pairs up with Neon Lights. The soundtrack to a late journey back home, the weirdness of the city emphasized by strange light and the music that escapes from this youngster’s headphones, sitting over there. It might not be the music you would listen to, from what you can hear, but it’s his. And whatever type of music you listen to, the effects are universal. You are both on the same tram, but you each have your own journey in your ears.

Sitting on your own couch, in your home studio below the roof. Home studio, that sounds good right? Maybe a bit… too much? Then again, this is where you work, study, practice, you always have a mat unrolled there. Much to your kitty’s delight.

You hear her scratch your old worn out mat you can’t seem to get rid of. You hear yourself scratch and scribble frantically on paper as you work your way through a yoga class, or the workbook from that über important training you are taking. Then Skype rings, and a conversation with a friend in the US starts. That’s been the soundtrack of afternoon and evenings of work for the last few weeks.

Music making in a world made of music

Nothing beats the sound of life. There is nothing you can do to cover the sound of life happening, wherever you are. It can be a car in your street, a furious honk following up soon, the heating starting up and burning water soon flowing in the pipes, the floor creaking under your footsteps…

Nothing beats the sounds of nature though. As I started typing this column, rain started pouring, and it is now hitting my roof repeatedly. Wind is waking up, and whistling through the littlest hole. Forgotten, the noisy cars. Forgotten, the loud voices outside. Forgotten, the chatter on the ever useless television.

As I am sipping my cup of tea, sitting on my couch with city of my life, I am preparing to listen to the best music ever created: the sounds of nature.

Find Emmanuelle here on The Magazine every month in Music Matters. But don’t lose touch with her great style of living real – read her smart, hip and honest blog Plans on a Comet.

]]> http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/24/music-matters-12-24/feed/ 0 http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/23/really-healthy-winter-warmers/ http://themagazineofyoga.com/blog/2011/12/23/really-healthy-winter-warmers/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:05:53 +0000 The Magazine of Yoga Staff http://themagazineofyoga.com/?p=25970
Photo: cc by Stephan Rosger, thanks!

Instead of alcohol or caffeine, these drinks seduce with aromatic spices, splashes of orange water, or creamy almond milk.

SELECTED BY THE MAGAZINE OF YOGA STAFF

We’ve got nothing against winter drink classics like hot chocolate, spiced apple cider or chai tea, but there’s a whole wonderful world of additional drink choices just perfect for curling up under grandma’s quilt on a cold snowy winter’s eve!

Sharon Tyler Herbst’s The Ultimate Liquor-Free Drink Guide includes some irresistible options for when you want to branch out from your tried-and-true favorites. These warming drinks seduce with aromatic spices, splashes of orange water, or creamy almond milk — no alcohol or caffeine needed.

Instead of the usual hot cocoa, try Mexican chocolate Champurrado, thickened with masa harina and sweetened with dark brown sugar. Honey-sweetened Russian Sbityen spiced with ginger, cloves and peppercorns makes a splendid toddy alternative, and the almond-based and orange water kissed Moroccan Sharbat Bil Looz gives chai tea some serious competition!

Note: Vegans, rejoice! Almond or soy milk can be substituted for dairy milk with delicious consequences in any of the following recipes.

Excerpted from The Ultimate Liquor-Free Drink Guide by Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © 2002 by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Every country has its traditional libations, those time-honored drinks that are not only local favorites, but whose popularity has spread far and wide. Countries with hot climates tend toward cool, light drinks, such as Mexico’s aguas frescas. And India beats the heat with its refreshing lassis, which can range from savory renditions flavored with spices like cumin and pepper to sweeter, fruit-flavored versions.

On the flip side of the coin, cold-climate residents need chill-chasers, such as Holland’s hot, anise-flavored anus melk, and Russia’s spicy, honey-based sbityen. Then there are holiday favorites, like Puerto Rico’s coquito, a coconut eggnog. This chapter contains a small sampling of myriad drinks from around the world, some of which may just become favorites in your household.

Atole de Chocolate (also called Champurrado) (Mexico)

Popular in Mexico and parts of the American Southwest, this beverage is said to date back to pre-Columbian times. It’s thickened with masa harina (lime-treated, dried corn kernels ground into flour). Masa harina and Mexican chocolate can be found in Latin markets and many supermarkets. Latin markets sell instant atole, which can be mixed with milk or water. Atole can be served hot or at room temperature.

Serves 4

2 cups (16 oz.) chilled water
rounded 1/3 cup masa harina
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 cups (16 oz.) whole milk
3 oz. Mexican chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, gradually stir 1 cup of the water into masa harina. Let stand 15 minutes. In a medium, heavy saucepan, bring remaining 1 cup water and cinnamon stick to a boil. Pour masa harina mixture through a fine sieve into boiling water, stirring constantly. Add milk, chocolate, and sugar; stir over medium-low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is creamy and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Whisk lightly until atole is frothy. Serve immediately in warm mugs, or cool to room temperature, refrigerate, and serve cold in medium glasses. Use a whisk to froth the mixture before serving.

Anus Melk (Holland)

This warmer is known as “anise milk” in the Netherlands. Toasting the anise seed will intensify the flavor.

Serves 4

1 rounded Tbsp. anise seed, crushed
4 cups (32 oz.) milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. (1 oz.) cornstarch
2 Tbsp. (1 oz.) water

Combine anise seed, milk, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to simmer. Reduce heat to low; cook 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place cornstarch in a small bowl. Gradually add water, stirring until smooth. Stirring constantly, slowly add cornstarch mixture to milk. Simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Pour through a fine strainer into warmed mugs. May be served immediately, or cooled to room temperature, refrigerated, and reheated over medium-low heat (don’t let it boil) just before serving.

Sbityen [ZBEET-yen] (Russia)

Although this honey-based warmer usually contains a jolt of vodka or brandy, it’s equally wonderful without it.

Serves 6

6 cups (48 oz.) water
2/3 cup (scant 6 oz.) honey
2-inch piece (1/2 inch in diameter) peeled ginger, thinly sliced
grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 stick cinnamon, broken in half
10 whole cloves
5 peppercorns
1/2 bay leaf
ground cinnamon for garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients except garnish in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve honey. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes. Strain into mugs; sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. May be refrigerated and reheated.

Sharbat Bil Looz (Morocco)

This almond-milk drink is mildly sweet and exceedingly satisfying. Although classically served chilled, it’s immensely soothing when warm. Although not traditional, toasting the almonds adds a rich flavor. For even more almond flavor, add a drop of pure almond extract.

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) water
8 oz. slivered almonds, toasted, if desired
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) milk
1 to 2 dashes (1/16 to 1/8 tsp.) orange-flower water or rose water
1 drop pure almond extract (optional)

Combine 1 cup of the water, almonds, and sugar in a blender. Cover and process at medium speed until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup water, milk, and orange-flower water; process until combined. Pour through a fine strainer into a pitcher. Taste and add almond extract, if desired. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Pour into small glasses.

Yansoon (Arab countries)

This spicy, warming drink is extremely popular throughout Arab countries. Although it is not traditional to do so, yansoon is also wonderful made with milk.

Serves 4

4 cups (32 oz.) water
1-inch piece (1/2 inch in diameter) peeled ginger, thinly sliced
6 whole star anise
5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
sugar (to taste)
2 Tbsp. toasted sliced almonds for garnish
4 cinnamon sticks for garnish (optional)

Combine water, ginger, anise, cloves, and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes. Sweeten to taste with sugar. Strain yansoon into warm mugs. Sprinkle each serving with almonds; garnish with cinnamon stick, if desired.

Excerpted from The Ultimate Liquor-Free Drink Guide by Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © 2002 by Sharon Tyler Herbst. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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