November 22, 2012
by Toni
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| Name | Artist |
| Track 04 | Dani’s Viniyoga |
| Ganesha Sharanam | Suzanne Sterling |
| Sail | AWOLNATION |
| Madness | Muse |
| I Believe | Sounds of Blackness |
| Gone Going | The Black Eyed Peas |
| Some Nights | Fun. |
| Locked Out of Heaven | Bruno Mars |
| Oh Love | Green Day |
| Overjoyed | Matchbox Twenty |
| What’s Left | 3 Doors Down |
| Universe | DJ DREZ |
| Jai Ma (Eastern Sun Mix) | Donna De Lory |
| Midnight In Paradise | Yves Coignet & Abdelkader Khabouri |
| A Hundred Thousand Harps | Tim Frantzich |
November 17, 2012
by Toni
1 Comment
Gratitude
This week we will focus on feeling gratitude for all of the goodness in our lives. For our homes, our jobs, our family, our friends, and even for the things that annoy us. As we work through our poses, may we find enough peace within ourselves to give thanks.
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
November 12, 2012
by Toni
2 Comments
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1/2 cup diced yellow squash
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups cooked quinoa (prepared to package directions)
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
1/4 cup toasted Georgia Pecan halves, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
2 tablespoons toasted Georgia Pecan halves, for garnish
Instructions
Heat the oil in large skillet.
Add the carrot, zucchini, yellow squash, and garlic, and cook until crisp tender.
Fold in the cooked quinoa, rosemary, and chopped pecans.
Season the quinoa with pepper and salt, to taste.
Present quinoa on a large platter and garnish with additional toasted pecans.
November 10, 2012
by Toni
0 comments
Bakasana
Sometimes we hold ourselves back out of fear and our own insecurities. Arm balances are very challenging and tend to bring up these emotions. This week we will be focusing on arm balancing poses in order to step out of our comfort zones and not only face our fears, but find our playful side. When we can learn to let go of our expectations and our need to be perfect, these poses begin to take shape. So relax, take your time, remember that some of these poses take years to accomplish, and above all, have fun!
Here are some teaching points for bakasana:
• Start in down dog and walk your feet closer to your hands
• Bend your elbows and knees
• Climb your knees one at time onto the backs of your arms
• Draw your belly up and in, and reach your chest forward
• Slowly lift one foot at time off of the floor
• Continue to reach your chest forward and spread your toes
• Hold for a couple of breaths
• Have fun!
November 8, 2012
by Toni
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Open your heart and discover who you are.
“Listening to your heart is not simple. Finding out who you are is not simple. It takes a lot of hard work and courage to get to know who you are and what you want.”
-Sue Bender
November 3, 2012
by Toni
2 Comments
Up dog
Here is another photo from my photo shoot with Shlick Art. This week we will focus on heart openers to help lift our moods as the season changes. Up dog is a very up lifting pose and can help increase flexibility in your shoulders and back.
Here are some tips to get into the pose.
October 26, 2012
by Toni
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The Yoga Sutra is not presented in an attempt to control behavior based on moral imperatives. The sutras don’t imply that we are “bad” or “good” based upon our behavior, but rather that if we choose certain behavior we get certain results. If you steal, for example, not only will you harm others, but you will suffer as well.
The first yama is perhaps the most famous one: ahimsa, usually translated as “nonviolence.” This refers not only to physical violence, but also to the violence of words or thoughts. What we think about ourselves or others can be as powerful as any physical attempt to harm. To practice ahimsa is to be constantly vigilant, to observe ourselves in interaction with others and to notice our thoughts and intentions. Try practicing ahimsa by observing your thoughts when a smoker sits next to you. Your thoughts may be just as damaging to you as his cigarette is to him. – Yoga Journal
October 18, 2012
by Toni
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2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 regular sugar
1 cup Earth Balance vegan butter
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce and 2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Vegan chocolate chips ( 6-8 oz)
Mix flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. In a large bowl mix sugars and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add applesauce/baking soda and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips.
Baking options:
Cookies- scoop about a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Cookie cake- For best results use foil cake pans. Split dough into 2- 8 inch square foil pans. Lightly smoothen out dough evenly in pans. ( do not press into pan)
Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Check with a tooth pick to make sure done. ** If using a glass pan 20-25 minutes.
Tip: I use my Kitchen aid mixer and just add the ingredients a little at a time. I start with sugar and applesauce mixture then add flour mixture.
Non- vegan option: replace applesauce mixture with 2 eggs and replace vegan butter with 1 cup of butter or margarine.
October 14, 2012
by Toni
6 Comments
Last Friday I had a photo shoot at Schlick Art in Valencia. My photographer, Lindsay was amazing and very comfortable to work with. I am very shy about having my picture taken , but Lindsay was able to help me relax and have fun! If you would like see more of her work or are interested in a photo session, you can find her website link under my links tab at the top of this page. Within a few weeks I will be adding a gallery of photos from the photo session. Below is one of the pictures.
Reverse Warrior
October 10, 2012
by Toni
0 comments
Trikonasana (Triangle pose)
You stand on them every day, but you’d be surprised by how much you take your legs for granted. It’s easy to forget their power and grace, especially if you have bad knees or tight hamstrings or achy feet. During those times when you’re feeling disconnected from your lower half, Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) can help bring you back. Before you know it, you’ll come to crave this elegant, powerful pose.
Trikonasana, like so many yoga poses, combines many elements in one posture. It builds strength and steadiness in the legs and feet, creates magnificent expansion and space in the torso as the arms and legs reach outward, and cultivates sama (evenness) in the body. And as you balance the effort between your arms, legs, and torso, your state of mind becomes steady and even as well. As the mind reaches the shores of the body and you turn your consciousness inward, the true experience of yoga, or union, begins. – Yoga Journal