Simplify your Life: Body Awareness

How do we reconnect?

Every Day Sage has a theme for the year: Simplicity. This is a first of a series of posts where I will share some of my tips for cultivating this under-valued quality. I'm also going to use this post as an opportunity to clarify a couple things about the business.


But first, a few anecdotes:

• My sister told me a story yesterday that her ex-boyfriend, at 28 years of age, had a mini-stroke. The day it happened, he had a busy day and in lieu of eating actual food he subsisted on two Rockstar drinks. He collapsed at work after slurring his words and being unable to form a sentence. There doesn't seem to be any lasting damage but the fact remains that the man is under 30 and already has had a stroke.
• A dear friend of mine recently attempted to work with her doctor to change birth control methods because she was uncomfortable with the idea of consuming hormones in perpetuity. The doctor laid so much shame on her as she lay half naked on the examination table that she went along with what he said, against her intuition, and then completely stopped receiving her monthly cycle. 
• As a yoga practitioner and teacher, I have to continually check myself as I cram my body into these funny shapes, to listen to the messages of my body instead of ignoring them and potentially injuring myself, all in the name of "looking good." I am especially aware of this tendency in light of the unraveling of a system of yoga I had identified myself with which turned out to be a cult (this might be a bit of an over-statement, but many of the signs were there). Especially in environments where we are encouraged to be vulnerable must we be vigilant.

What's the point of all this? To demonstrate how over-complicated and disconnected we as humans are from our own bodies; and, how we deny our senses and ignore the messages of our body's wisdom. I'm sure you have your own stories; either things you've noticed in the people around you or habits you have yourself.

I believe it is this disconnect that leads to most sickness and disease.

Recipe: Pollo a la Manzana

POLLO A LA MANZANA

The one Spanish meal I mastered while living in Spain. Mastered the art of not only cooking it, but eating it almost every week, tucked in under the brasero. 

Sabroso!

INGREDIENTES:

• 4 whole chicken legs (includes leg and thigh)
• One medium yellow onion, cut into chunks
• 4-6 garlic cloves cut in half (depending on how much you like garlic)
• 2 cups (approx. 14 oz) your choice of mushrooms. These can be canned or fresh. I haven't found canned mushrooms like they had in spain so I usually chop up some small mushrooms)
• One potato (or sweet potato if you want to PALEO-FY the dish)
• 1 1/2 cups white wine
• Butter (about half a stick), cut into 4 equal slices
• 4 golden apples
• One whole lemon, quartered
• Sea salt

DIRECCIONES:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Line the bottom of a large casserole dish with the chopped onions, garlic, potatoes, and mushrooms.
3. Put the quartered lemon in each corner of the dish.
4. Liberally salt the chicken thighs. Arrange the chicken on top of all the other ingredients.
5. Put one slice of butter on top of each thigh.
6. Pour the wine into the bottom of the dish.
7. Nestle the golden apples into the crooks of each thigh. 
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes and then check your dish. You need to remove the apples one they start to soften (you can easily slide a fork into them). This is an important step, otherwise the apples will completely collapse into mush.
9. Cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through, usually a total or 45-60 minutes depending on your oven. Use a spoon or turkey baster to pour some of the white wine over the chicken a couple of times throughout.
10. Remove from the oven and serve, adding an apple to each plate. 

*The best way to eat this dish is with a piece of chicken, mushroom, potato, onion, apple, garlic in each bite. Seriously.

*This dish keeps really well so you can make a bunch and reheat it for breakfast, lunch, etc. 

*Sometimes I keep all the yummy juices leftover and use them to roast veggies later.

I hope you enjoy! 

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Ooh la la...

Look what I found at Birite market!

How do you deal with stress?

Aye yai yai!!!!

How do you personally deal with stress?

Living in a city, it's easy to normalize that familiar feeling of overwhelm.

We think we've got it handled, and then it comes as a surprise when it all comes crashing down around us in the form of sickness, anxiety, poor sleep, or reverting to past habits that no longer serve (maybe with food or alcohol).

I wanted to share with you some of my tried-and-trues when it comes to managing stress. You can begin to incorporate all of these, or one at a time. It's also nice to have a little list handy, so when you catch yourself spiraling out of balance, you can take a quick look and recommit to your health right then and there.