Month: March 2018

3 Bullet Thursday

3 Bullet Thursday

jeslarussa

Greetings from sunny West Hollywood, California. It’s Thursday and I’m killing some time before my flight home, so here is the latest rundown of yoga information, inspiration, and lifestyle nonsense from yours truly here at GroundingUp.

What I’m Watching-On Yoga the Architecture of Peace

On Yoga the Architecture of Peace is a documentary chronicling the photographer Michael O’Neill’s yoga journey. He also has a book by the same name that I haven’t gotten to yet. I’m only half way through the film and it is visually stunning, as you would expect from a professional photographer. The plot is this: stressed out perfectionist ruins health, tries yoga for physical and emotional healing, is subsequently healed and becomes obsessed with digging deeper into this ancient magic. This is every modern yogi’s story. His is just more beautifully produced than most. You can stream it on Netflix with your subscription or get it from iTunes for $9.99.On-Yoga-the-archtecture-of-peace

What I’m Reading- J. Brown’s BLOG

J. Brown is a yoga teacher and founder of a yoga studio in Brooklyn, NY. He is not a fan of what the West has done to traditional yoga and he is bitter AF that yoga is a business. I read him and listen to his podcasts because he has a lot to say about the quality of yoga teacher training programs and I keep thinking I’ll be able to make sense of his stance on the yoga industry which seems to be:

  1. Yoga should be regulated but he isn’t sure how it should be regulated but definitely not too much
  2. The Yoga Alliance is the seat of the devil
  3. Yoga should only be a business if it is the kind of yoga J.Brown approves of and if it isn’t a chain like CorePower that is putting the squeeze on small independent yoga studios like his that had to close down because they couldn’t compete with BIG corporate yoga.

Anyway, I plan to keep reading and listening, hoping to hear something that makes some sense.J.Brown-BLOG

Deep Thought I’m Pondering-

“My mind is like a bad neighborhood; I try not to go there alone.” Anne Lamott

I mention this quote because we are doing a lot of meditating these days at the studio and I am always amazed by the fact that meditating with a group of people at a schedule time and location is so much easier than making it happen on my own. For quality meditation, being alone with other people is more effective than being alone with myself.

Want More?

This site is full of yoga tips, information and inspiration. Check out the recipes section for vegan and vegetarian recipes to fuel your practice or eat a little cleaner. For some deep thoughts about yoga philosophy go here. And for past 3 Bullet Thursdays and other yoga tips and hacks go here.

This article originally published on www.groundingup.com

Vegan Sesame Tofu

Vegan Sesame Tofu

I debated about using the word “vegan” in this title because I worried readers might assume this sesame tofu recipe tasted terrible. But I did it anyway because in the end I believe it is important to be completely transparent.

So, yes, this is a vegan sesame tofu recipe. It is also delicious and easy. So delicious, in fact,  that I’m going to start doubling the recipe to account for the fact that my kids eat three servings of it each every time I make it. And, it is so easy that I can make it while dealing with a 3 year old who is losing his shit because I won’t let him eat chocolate chip cookies before dinner.

Vegan Sesame Tofu Recipe Notes

Like I said, I have made this several times and so I have a few suggestions for you before you get started.

  1. While extra firm tofu works just fine with this recipe, I prefer to use sprouted tofu because it has a much firmer texture and a bit more going for it nutritionally. We use Wildwood sprouted tofu, but there are other brands out there.
  2. When I’m not making this for the kids, I use sesame oil infused with chili oil. 
  3. I know I said to serve this over white rice; however, I prefer to eat it with rice noodles. I just don’t unless I have time to make rice and rice noodles because my family thinks rice noodles are “weird.”

Want more?

Visit our recipes section for more vegan and vegetarian recipes and resources.

This article originally published on GroundingUp.

Print Recipe
 Sesame Tofu
Sesame-tofu-over-rice
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings
Ingredients
Tofu
Sauce
Garnish
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings
Ingredients
Tofu
Sauce
Garnish
Sesame-tofu-over-rice
Instructions
  1. Press and drain the tofu. Then break it into small pieces and allow it to drain further. Then combine the tofu pieces in a covered container with the corn starch and toss to coat.
    Tofu-and-cornstarch
  2. Saute the coated tofu on medium heat in a few tablespoons of oil until golden brown. Then remove from the pan and place on a plate with a paper towel to degrease a little.
    saute-tofu-and-cornstarch
  3. To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch slurry, in a wok or pan. Bring to a gentle boil and then add the cornstarch slurry. Mix until the sauce thickens. Then, add the tofu and toss to coat.
    sesame-tofu-sauce
  4. Serve over white rice and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
    Sesame-tofu-over-rice
3 Bullet Thursday

3 Bullet Thursday

jeslarussa

This may be the first 3 Bullet Thursday not written and published from an airport bar! Thanks to a break in my business travel, this batch of yoga information, inspiration, and general lifestyle nonsense is coming at you direct from my embarrassingly messy desk.

So, without any further ado, here is a run down of the noteworthy from the yoga world.

What I’m Reading-Living Your Yoga, Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life by Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T.

This book has been on my yoga book shelf for years, and on occasion, I have even referenced it in other yoga articles on this blog. I have not, however, read it cover to cover until now because it just didn’t seem to land with me.

Living-Your-Yoga

Living Your Yoga is recommended reading the for 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training I am completing, and since I’m an “A student”, I’m reading the book AND making notes. Surprisingly, every page of this book is hitting home for me right now and I’m taking so much from it.

You know what they say, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

Music I’m Listening To-Ambient and Not So Ambient

I love ambient music and iTunes Music knows this about me. So every Friday, the lovely algorithm at iTunes makes some ambient music recommendations just for me. The Fathoms album by Tapes and Topographies was in the mix last week and the iTunes algorithm served up an ambient winner.  Fathoms-Tapes-and-Topographies

In heavy rotation from the not so ambient genre at our house is the Kaleo A/B album. This album was released in 2016, so obviously it isn’t technically new. It is new to my husband though and he asked that I feature the music on 3 Bullet Thursday to make sure other people knew about this Icelandic blues-rock band. Kaleo-A/B

What I’m Wearing-WTF, Lululemon?

I don’t usually spend much time writing about yoga clothing. But as a short chic, I feel it is my duty to tell the world that Lululemon made a pair of pants that are available in petite sizes (28″).

I don’t know what inspired them to finally notice that short people need pants too. Maybe there is a short woman in the design department at Lululemon who went rogue and cut the patterns off 4 inches short. But I urge you to remain calm because it only applies to their Street to Studio Pant II. The 28″ cut is the one for short girls. The 32″ cut is for the tall ladies. Also, technically, the Street to Studio Pant II is a crop style, but on short girls, the 28″ shows up as an ankle pant. Okay, fine. And one more thing, the 28″ isn’t lined. The regular length pants are lined.  I guess they sent the rogue short designer packing before she had time to line them.

I have modeled them for you in the photos below. And, one final note about these; size up at least one size. The cut is clingy so if you want to be comfortable in them, which seems to be their purpose, I recommend setting aside your vanity and getting a little extra room.

Lululemon-street-to-studio-III
This is what they look like on a short girl who is not a Lululemon model. These are size 4 in the 28″. I’m 5’2″.
Lululemon-Street-to-studio-III-back
And plenty of room in the trunk!

Want More?

This site is full of yoga tips, information and inspiration. Check out the recipes section for vegan and vegetarian recipes to fuel your practice or eat a little cleaner. For some deep thoughts about yoga philosophy go here. And for past 3 Bullet Thursdays and other yoga tips and hacks go here.

This article originally published on www.groundingup.com