Author: Autumn Adams

DIY Yoga Mat Cleaner

Autumn Adams

Hey yogis,

Kiss that skunky gym mat goodbye! Toss this nice smelling DIY yoga mat cleaner into your gym bag or yoga bag and you’ll never have to smell a stinky yoga mat again… unless it’s REALLY bad. A clean mat will not only last longer, but it will also keep you from getting sick or getting a fungal, bacterial or viral skin infection. I like the DIY version because I can play with the scents and have one for my morning practice and one for my evening practice… think citrus (energizing) vs. lavender (calming). Creating your own yoga mat cleaner from natural ingredients makes it that much easier to maintain a sattvic (pure) lifestyle, beginning to incorporate the principles of sattva into our daily routines (diet, behavior, products we use).

Here is my DIY yoga mat cleaner recipe. Happy cleaning!

body-spray-mat-spray

Ingredients for DIY yoga mat cleaner:

  • Spray bottle
  • Tea tree essential oil
  • Lavender essential oil
  • Witch Hazel or distilled white vinegar
  • Water

Instructions for DIY yoga mat cleaner:

  1. This recipe will be in proportions, since your spray bottle will likely be a different size than the ones that I use.
  2. Fill your spray bottle about 3/4 way with water. Remaining 1/4 with witch hazel or distilled white vinegar.
  3. Add 15 or so drops of tea tree essential oil and 10 or so of your second oil. Feel free to adjust the amounts and remember a little goes along way, so if you’re working with a smaller spray bottle start with fewer drops.
  4. Seal it, shake it up, and toss it in your mat bag with an old wash cloth and you’re good to go.

Why tea tree essential oil? Tea tree oil (melaleuca) is an intense anti-fungal and antimicrobial.

Why lavender essential oil? Lavender is a natural antiseptic and antimicrobial. Lavender is also calming and great for those with sensitive skin.

Don’t like lavender? Try lemongrass, clove bud, eucalyptus, lemon, myrhh, geranium, peppermint/spearmint or patchouli.

If you’d rather just buy a yoga mat cleaner here are a couple natural ones that I recommend:

Nama-Sudz Organic Mat Spray

Manduka Mat Wash

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Adi Mudra

Autumn Adams

Hey yogis, your mudra for the week is Adi Mudra. Adi Mudra received it’s name, adi= first and mudra= seal, because it is the first position the hands are capable of inside the womb. Adi Mudra is most commonly practiced during pranayama, but may also be practiced in asana.

yoga-mudra-adi-mudra

To Practice Adi Mudra

To practice Adi Mudra tuck the thumb into the palm, so the tip of the thumb touches the little finger, then close the fingers over the top of the thumb to make a gentle fist. In meditation or pranayama turn the palms down and rest the hands on the thighs. Adi Mudra is calming to the nervous system and is nice to practice at the end of an asana practice. I’ve also found that it can help with balance in some of the balancing postures like tree pose.

Benefits of Adi Mudra:

  • Calms the nervous system
  • Stimulates udana vayu (the governing vayu for the upper chest, throat, and head)
  • It is thought to aid in pranayama because it increases breathing and lung capacity, thus increasing oxygen flow throughout the body. Source: yogapedia.com
  • The adi mudra is also thought to stimulate the brain, which is closely related to the crown (sahasrara) chakra that governs an individual’s sense of peace, higher awareness and oneness with the universe. Source: yogapedia.com
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A Poem for Savasana

Autumn Adams

blissful-afternoon-tea

Just For Now

Just for now, without asking how, let yourself sink into stillness.

Just for now, lay down the
weight you so patiently
bear upon your shoulders.
Feel the earth receive
you, and the infinite
expanse of sky grow even
wider as your awareness
reaches up to meet it.

 Just for now, allow a wave of breath to enliven your experience.

Breathe out
whatever blocks you from
the truth. Just for now, be
boundless, free, awakened
energy tingling in your
hands and feet. Drink in
the possibility of being
who and what you really are
so fully alive that when you
open your eyes the world
looks different, newly born
and vibrant, just for now.

By Danna Faulds

Jamu Recipe

Autumn Adams

turmeric-jamu-recipe

Jamu is a healing Balinese elixir made of turmeric, ginger, lime, tamarind and honey. I drank Jamu religiously during my yoga teacher training at Zuna Yoga, and will likely drink it religiously again this fall at my upcoming yoga retreat in Bali, Indonesia.

The flavor of Jamu, especially when it hasn’t been sweetened much, is an acquired taste for sure. Jamu packs an intense turmeric punch… made even punchier with fresh ginger added to the mix. On top of the basic ingredients you can add other spices for flavor or for Ayurvedic purposes. I like to add black pepper and cayenne to mine, and sometimes cloves. Jamu’s main ingredient, turmeric, is rich in curcumin, a fantastic anti-inflammatory. Combining turmeric with black pepper (which contains piperine) helps our body absorb the curcumin. Want to learn more about the amazing benefits of turmeric? Check out this article at AuthorityNutrition.com.

Just a few ounces of Jamu each day is enough and should be thought of as a natural medicine, so you don’t want to overdo it… although I’ve definitely guzzled it down on more than one occasion and survived.

Here is a simple Jamu recipe to follow:

Ingredients

  • 7-10 inches turmeric root, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
  • 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled
  • 3 T. tamarind paste
  • juice from 2 limes or 1 1/2 lemons
  • 1 T. honey or 1 cup of pineapple juice
  • 1 liter of water
  • Cayenne, to taste
  • Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large pot on medium high heat add water and turmeric. Once the water begins to boil turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 18-20 minutes.
  2. Add the ginger and tamarind paste and simmer for another 4-5 minutes.
  3. Allow mixture to cool. Once mixture has cooled add the turmeric mixture and honey to your blender in batches (just a warning: if your blender is plastic it will be stained yellow afterward). Blend until smooth.
  4. Using a fine mesh strainer you will strain the ingredients over a bowl to separate the solids from the liquids. You may need to use a spatula to press some of the moisture out of the solids. Discard the solids.
  5. Add citrus juice, cayenne and black pepper to your mixture. Stir, taste and adjust… maybe add more sweetener if you feel like you need it… maybe dilute it with some extra water.
  6. Poor mixture into glass jars, seal them up and store in the fridge. Jamu will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

 

Super Fresh Farmer’s Market Salad

Autumn Adams

farmers-market-salad-recipe

I love this time of year for all of the wonderful produce we have available at the Farmer’s Market and this is one of my favorite salads. This is a recipe adapted from Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table Cookbook. I’ve made this recipe so many times I’m not sure how different it is from the original, but it is so delicious and easy. These days I need as simple as possible… otherwise I likely wouldn’t feed myself.

Farmer’s Market Salad (Serves 4)

Salad Ingredients

  • 2 ears of corn, husked
  • 2 bell peppers (your choice, but I like red and yellow best)
  • 2 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced into 1/3 inch slices
  • 1/3 cup garden fresh basil, chopped

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 3 T. olive oil
  • 1.5 T balsamic vinegar
  • 1-1.5 t. honey
  •  2 t. stone ground mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste

Serve with sliced baguette.

Instructions

  1. Prepare your dressing. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a medium size bowl and whisk until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Turn grill onto high heat. Brush corn with a little olive oil and grill. Grill until each side is marked. Set aside. Once cool slice the corn from the cob and put in the bowl with the dressing.
  3. Grill peppers next using high heat until the skins are blistered. Brush with olive oil as necessary. Once cool remove the skins and seeds. Slice the peppers into 1/4 inch thick strips. Add the peppers to the dressing and stir gently.
  4. Allow the corn and peppers to sit in the dressing for 15-30 minutes. Add the basil just before serving.
  5. On a large plate or medium sized platter lay out your heirloom tomatoes and top with the corn and pepper mixture. Garnish with any extra basil leaves and dig in!
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