Categories
Healthy Food

Gratitude

Reminiscing this beautiful celebration at a friend’s place – a generous soul who showers her guests with love, generosity, and laughter:)

Abundance; friendship; sharing; BERRIES:) are Berry very Yummy:) Mango Mouse cake and berries to celebrate an ending, which marked a fresh new beginning.
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Note Mango Mousse Cake went …fast. But no problem ! Just whip one up yourself:)

Mango Mousse
Pureed Mango 100g
Plain Yogurt 200g
Gelatin 10g Or Kanten powder if vegan

Mix well pureed mango and plain yogurt.
In deep pan, heat few table spoons of water and melt the gelatin or kanten.
Just enough for the power to melt and liquify;
Then pour the mango mixture. Mix/whip well (if not vegan, can fold in whipped 2 egg whites to fluff)
Place either individual glass bowls or
into larger baking pan of shape you like, line the sides with ladyfingers (if you want to make it fancy)

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Easy

Okay, I admit THIS cake was done professionally at a bakery … without yogurt but rather eggs and more sugar – But the above is the everyday easy simple recipe and I like to serve with sweet mochi rice (pref. black that becomes purple-ish)
and condensed milk on the side as an option. Garnish with mint or ?

Will take photo next time:) This too, went fast.

Simple, fast and … healthy.

Categories
Beautiful Places Healthy Activities Healthy Living

Jet Lag – From West to East; then West to East…Burning at both ends?

airplane

Gasping for air?
Out of juice?
Light headed?

Still feeling awful with this jet lag – I have never felt this bad before (from a jet lag, that is) so I will be doing a whole article upon finishing my “research” (can’t think too well now…hate brain fog). This vertigo feel has brought on anxieties like “what if I pass out?” what if I ? what if ? Performance-based negative thinking spiraling – how do you conquer that lack of faith in your own body’s self-healing power to work it out to bring about normalcy and balance? But take note of this:

Last year, lawyer John Eaton ended up in hospital suffering from fatigue, disorientation, dehydration and irregular heartbeat after 22 trips to the Far East. Three of his business partners had died after spending most of their careers travelling overseas. His experience, and that of others like him, has prompted a new research programme at the Aviation Health Institute (AIH) in Oxford.

Farrol Kahn, the institute’s director, points out that we are only now seeing the first generation of regular business travellers approaching retirement, and suggests that a lack of oxygen in aircraft cabins can over a long period of time cause blood disorders and heart problems, while cabin pressures and enforced immobility drain the body of vital minerals, cause disorientation and loss of muscle strength…. Kahn advises that while adequate sleep is the main cure, drinking several glasses of carrot juice for four days before a flight is a good idea, as this helps offset the effects of reduced oxygen. He also suggests drinking a glass of mineral water every hour during the flight and rejecting airline food and alcohol in favor of pasta or bananas.

– excerpt from UK Management Today

Here are some interesting facts about jet lag:

– Our Circadian rhythms are disturbed depending on how many time zones are crossed. The direction of the travel appears to matter – many claim going East is worse than going Westward, in terms of severity of the discomfort upon arrival. For me, this claim has proven to be correct – going from California to Asia is easier than coming back from Asia to Americas. It is noted, however, that the ill-affects, if any, are affected by the schedule of the flight as well … good planning and preparation can make a difference.

– Along with messing up the body clock, we suffer from a lack of oxygen in pressurised cabins which is 20-25 per cent less than at sea level. Some airlines do a better job with this oxygen shortage than others. Apparently, not this one – a new airline I was trying out for the first time that I was on on route from Tokyo to Taipei; then from Taipei to Vancouver…hell.

– All studies agree that women are at a higher risk than men though, as estrogen is subject to jet lag like conditions. Hormones play a role here too…Estrogen again.

– Carrot juice is recommended because of its high levels of keratin (a protein that encourages cells in the body to hold on to oxygen longer) and since in a pressurised cabin, again, there is up to 25 per cent less oxygen available, so the longer the body can hold on to oxygen the more normal you will feel.

More to come but I am soooo sleepy, ready to pass out – & it’s only 4pm…

You may be in front of a post card perfect, most beautiful view but if you are not feeling well … you don’t see it; you don’t appreciate it.
You simply … don’t care.
Health & wellness is the most prized gift of all.

tokyo tower

Let’s Yoga to bring about balance – balance in the nervous system; balance in the internal organs; balance in the yin and yang stillness vs. movements. The best cure; the remedy. And, SLEEP. (You are right, C-san) Yawn … ZZZ

Categories
Yoga

No Mud, No Lotus…

renkondigin fact, it can be very very muddy harvesting this root for our gastronomical consumption…

Okay, so here too, it’s mud, mud, mud, no lotus (flower) up North in Vancouver this season.
IMG_0322_small Where is the blossom? When does it flower?

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Returned from Japan via Taipei (just a stopover during typhoon weather – would love to explore this city next time), then to Vancouver (stayed awhile – a very cosmopolitan city with lots of yoga – after all, isn’t this place the birthplace of Lululemon?) and now home. What a relief… “there’s no place like home” cried Dorothy and savoring that similar sentiment – if only I could have just clicked the heels of ruby red shoes to get home. Or have that Doraemon-like private helicopter to go from one place to another with no time zone diff. Rather, a head-spin… Suffering from the worst jet lag ever…

Feeling unprepared as I stress over coming back to reality where TO DO LIST awaits stealth like … Probably not having been able to practice the kind of yoga that’s suitable for last couple weeks have brought on this sense of … discomfort. Serious discomfort in my own skin. It’s a bitter medicine to learn from the consequence of not listening to my own body and mind – I should know how to take care of them – I should know better – all studied – yes, that art of self-care – and yet, somehow all went out the window as I let myself languish in the hot heat and humidity of 95% … somehow made myself a prisoner to an air conditioned indoor environment … as news constantly reported alarming temperatures of near or over 100F and dangers of sun strokes… Take one step outside, and immediately, I would be dripping with sweat – so muggy – sweltering suffocating heat. If you like Bikram yoga, I suppose, it’s just ideal … but it’s not just 90 minutes – it’s 24/7. How is that for hell for a pitta dosha like me? I used to love summer in Japan as a child but … it’s either global warming or my body has changed – it’s so much hotter than how I remember my childhood summers – even college years summers in Japan. I Love Japan but only in Spring, Autumn and Winter …30F degrees cooler upon landing to Vancouver… (95 degrees cooled to about 60… I would call this a drastic change…)

While in Vancouver, feeling the need to “restore” myself into balance, did seek out a Restorative yoga class and a Yin – always fascinating to see how others teach them – at a sparkly posh downtown studio, the 90 minutes class taught by a father of a two-year old, rather buffed young instructor, very talkative with an interesting playlist, first; an interesting sequence of many squats, second; an interesting ‘take’ on “restorative yoga”, third. Guess ALL yoga should be “restorative” in one way or another so his departure from the expected can be appreciated. Let’s just say, it was a playground … with props. Packed to the brim with 50+ diverse students and counting – a bit surprised on Sunday morning at 9:45 … while not exactly what I had expected nor wanted, it worked to bring about some sense of ease and comfort in my own body tight, stiff and sore from hours of sitting and waiting in different time zones. So in need of relief … (will cover this class at another post)So in need of comfort, support and sense of security. A Balance.

As I tried to restore myself, I found myself chanting to self … “no mud, no lotus, no mud, no lotus… ” My trip to Japan was not a vacation – visiting my aunt dying at a hospice was grating to my nerves and exhausting … Why do good people have to leave this world to go to another? Why does our body have to wither away ? Why do we suffer? If we can’t live forever, we have to live in the moment – that eternal moment. That eternity we pin our hopes to – that life is meaningful and precious.

Tried to find peace as I took in the group energy…all looking for some relief from the daily grind – the struggles… Sunday is a day God (or Higher Power) bestowed on us to REST, DIGEST, INTEGRATE so that we may PREPARE for Monday.
nomudnolotus

AND lotus roots are so tasty… love RENKON – a very popular common root veggie in Japan is lotus roots… it’s super yummy:)

renkonsushi

I realize I am getting away from the Buddhist teaching significance …celebrating this root vegetable. It’s crunchy and yet a little bit chewy …a must for Chirashi sushi my mother used to make:)

renkonpretty

and here’s renkon edamame …

renkonedamame

and renkon chips:)

renkonchips

So…

nomudnolotusNo mud, No lotus. No dark, No light. No sadness, No happiness. No Yang, No Yin. No Grief … No Joy then. Repeat – No Mud, No Lotus.
Both spiritual and gastronomical – Amen.