This is one of my favorite soups, both for flavour and convenience. This morning I actually had it for breakfast, as I was craving something warm and hearty to complement the misty morning.
Generally my soups take an hour or so to prepare, but this one is as instant as a healthy soup can be, making it ideal for when you need to eat right away, or just don’t have a lot of time to cook.
Preparation time: about 12 minutes. Makes 2 servings.
Ingredients:
This post is from my dear friend, Dee Holden. She is a plant intuitive and a great person to learn from when it comes to all things green and good.
Eating flowers is one of my favorite things to do in the Summertime. They share their healing vibrations with us when we eat them. The flowers of these plants are edible: alliums, bee balm, borage, calendula, cornflower, dandelion, johnny jump ups, lavender, lilac, nastursium, pansy, rosemary, wild roses, violets, squash blossoms and sooo sooo many more.
Remember to identify the flower exactly and eat only edible flowers and edible parts of those flowers. Never harvest flowers growing by roadsides or flowers sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals.
Flower salads and calendula pancakes are yummy, healing and certainly beautiful, yet there are also ways to experience the healing effects of the whole plant: heart, body, soul and spirit.
Read More “Denise Holden on Edible Flowers, the Rose, and Sage”
This is a story of finding bliss in an ordinary place. May it inspire you to follow your own bliss, and connect with the truth and oneness within.
This weekend I turned my front porch into a temple.
I brought out most of my crystals and many luxurious fabrics; I created a sanctuary and proceeded to spend the better part of two days there.
I played my guitar, drummed and sang with my djembe. I painted sacred words on stones (more on that later).
I spent a lot of time in meditation and mantra. Sometimes I’d pick up a crystal and just sit, tuning into its vibrations and listening to the message of the moment. Sometimes I would work with energy and intention.
Sometimes I just sat and watched my breath.
One of my companions was the ever present book of poetry by Rumi which lives on the table on my porch. I love to pick it up and open to a random page to see what gift awaits me there.
It’s always so delightful to find a new recipe for enjoying salad, especially one that includes the medicinal benefits of shiitake mushrooms!
Shiitake mushrooms are considered one of the most important mushrooms in the East, and are used to boost the immune system and support healing for many conditions.
I get mine from Michael’s Mushrooms at the Kamloops Farmer’s Market, and they are so fresh and delicious!
For many people, the idea of a bunch of lettuce isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but there are ways to make salad absolutely scrumptious!
In fact, many (possibly most) of my meals at home are different variations of salad. Salad wrap, veggie sandwich, rice or quinoa salad, etc. It’s easy, it’s quick, and SO nutritious.
So here’s my latest creation:
Feeds 2-4 people. Approximately 15 minutes to prepare.
Read More “Fantastic Farmer’s Market Salad with Shiitake Mushrooms”
“Sometimes advanced yoga is doing Legs up the Wall pose when everyone else is doing arm balances.”
This was the sage advice given to me by one of my Anusara yoga instructors during a time where I felt like I was falling apart, but just kept pushing instead of allowing the process to unfold and then pass.
Yet once I’d been given permission, or more accurately, once I’d given myself permission to lay on my back and swing my legs up the wall while the rest of the class was playing on their hands, I realized that is where I needed to be.
And I begun to listen to myself. And the intensity passed, for I was no longer fighting it.
This is an example of something I think so many of us do. We keep pushing and forcing ourselves to do more, not rest – to try to keep up with the break-neck pace of ambition or need in life.
But it doesn’t work. It isn’t sustainable if it’s not sourced from the limitless energy that breathes us and dances in our blood; that energy that dances in everything that is.
When we push ourselves too hard and have unrealistic expectations, often it leads to anxiety, to living in a state of feeling like it’s all too much, or that we’re not good enough. And then all sorts of things can come from that, if left unchecked, including adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, and all manner of stress related physical manifestations.
So what’s the out? How do you shift that feeling of “There is never enough time”?
Read More “The Yoga of Listening, Retreats, and Letting Go of Anxiety”
Much of the world has turned its healing focus on the situation in the Gulf of Mexico. Below is a video where I lead you through a mediation for healing the Gulf, and the earth, as well as brightening your own heart.
The oil spill is a microcosm, showing how detrimental some of our human practices can be, and awakening a massive motivation for change. Using intention and visualization, you can send powerful light to the oceans and the earth – this has been done in many ways and makes a great deal of difference.
This meditation was ‘given’ to me by a great Earth Healer; a giant Smokey Quartz crystal. Crystals contain great wisdom, and this particular crystal is a very powerful healer with depth and far reaching insight.
I asked it to give me something to offer as healing for the Gulf Oil Spill that I could share with you, and yesterday – at dawn on Summer Solstice – I put it on video.
Below the video is the transcript of the meditation I was given.
I received this message in my email today. I’m not sure where it originates, but I think it’s worth posting. See if you resonate with this message and meditation.
If you meditate on the vision and energy of a Net of Light, as described below, even for a few minutes each day, you will contribute significantly to the healing that is so needed right now.
Though the Grandmothers speak here in an urgent way, there is much hope.
Stay in the light of your heart as you do this work. This light is limitless, boundless, and capable of healing ANYTHING.
When your heart sings, beauty breathes more fully within you and shines brightly all around you.
But to hear the song of your heart, you have to first listen.
Within silence, all sound exists. Every melody and beat is there, waiting for their time – ready to contribute to the dance of life.
You know when you hear or feel a deep truth? It moves you. It hits something far within, maybe bringing tears to your eyes.
The song of your heart comes from truth, from the pure love-light being who you truly are. And every time you pause to tune into your breath, or listen to the call of your spirit, that truth becomes more clear.
Even if you don’t actually like to sing out loud, we each have a beautiful singer within. When you honor yourself by following the path that your soul asks you to take, your own personal song lights up the entire matrix of life that we call the world and universe.
The following video is me singing one of the songs of my heart. The mantra itself came to me in a meditation, and the melody simply appeared one day, birthed out of silence. I hope you enjoy it.
Who knew fitness could be this fun?! An incredible community of women are finding out just how much you can actually enjoy getting in shape with the Yoga Fitness Boot Camp.
We wake up in the early Kamloops morning, watch the sun rise over the mountains, and find the perfect balance of intense fitness exercises and centering yoga. It is transformational, and this program is changing women’s lives.
“I want you to know how good I feel and how much respect I have for you as a teacher – you make welcoming room for individuals of varying ages, sizes and abilities while still challenging your students to go to their edge.” – Constance
As a yoga instructor, this program is challenging and so much fun to teach. I call on all of my skills to bring the sacred into a very physical workout, make sure it is safe and that there are different options for women of varying fitness levels, and somehow find the edge where everyone is working as hard as they can while still having a blast!
We even had a costume day this past Friday. It was smiles and laughter all around. Really, how can you not have a good time when your instructor is wearing a blue wig and the person across from you has on a ridiculous hat?
Why all the fun? Because it works. When you’re in a fun loving community, you want to come to class. You naturally encourage each other, and it’s not such a struggle to give everything you’ve got, because the light hearted feel helps carry you through.
When you’re in the feeling of joy, things flow more naturally, and your heart lights up every part of you with delight. That’s good yoga, no matter how long you’re holding forearm plank for, or how many lunges you’ve done. When you align with the Spirit, whose nature is pure goodness, everything else is simply more available to you.
It’s really amazing to hear comments like “I didn’t think I could do 10 more seconds, but then I did and I realized my capacity is so much more than I thought!”
What an honour it is to lead this program, and to be a part of this community of women. Kamloops has some very special ladies, and a great group of them are in this Boot Camp.
Would you like to be part of it? Head on over to the Yoga Fitness Kamloops Boot Camp page for more info and registration.
All Photos by Natalie Anfield / Kamloops Photography
Wow! Apparently I’m not the only one who wants to bring some meaning into working out. Today was the first day of the Kamloops Yoga Fitness Boot Camp for Women, and it was a blast!
Thirty women came out in full force, ready to greet the morning as the empowered Goddesses they are. One creative soul who didn’t have weights picked up a couple of good sized rocks and used those. There was laughter and encouragement. And everyone worked so hard! It was a truly excellent start to a very special program.
Here’s what one participant said came to mind as I was singing to everyone at the very end as they lay in shavasana:
“Katrina breathes the sacred into a ROCKIN’ workout!”
And all I have to say is that I am grateful and honored to be able to share this gift. I can’t wait to see how it grows and blooms into the transformational power it is becoming. Yeah yoga boot camp! 🙂
To find out more about this amazing program, check out the Kamloops Yoga Fitness Boot Camp page.
