day #3 – gettin’ into the groove

i’m pulling out all the stops today, people – integrating all my loves: yoga, madonna (especially circa 1986), music, photos, food & the cleanse (my latest obsession)! if you can’t already tell, i’m totally into this cleanse now, and all this energy is just oozing into every aspect of my life! i’ve gotten my sisters to tag along with me through this journey, i’ve convinced my fiancé, jeff, to try some of the food i’ve been eating (half of which he wasn’t a fan of), i’ve talked about the cleanse in my classes & brought detoxifying twists into my yoga sequences.

parivrrta trikonasana (revolved triangle) (photo courtesy of myyogaonline.com)

i’ve incorporate almost every twisting pose that i could think of into each of my classes: chair twist, crescent twist, gomukhasana, side crow, marichyasana III, revolved half moon, eka pada koundiyanasana I & revolved triangle. there’s so much to choose from! go big or go home! :)

i’m also getting a little more daring with my food and started experimenting with some of the different recipes that talya gave us for this week to cook.  i made a bomb.com breakfast-of-vegan-champions: amaranth porridge with dates, organic golden raisins & cinnamon. i’ve never had amaranth before, and it’s got a much different texture than i’m used to. i thought it would puff up and get soft like quinoa does, but it stayed pretty small. it reminds me a lot of fish eggs or roe, that’s sprinkled on one of my favorite foods: sushi! such an odd consistency to be having at breakfast, but it was so filling! …and i’m sure i’ll get used to it soon. a little goes a long way, so i cut the original recipe in half, only cooking 1 cup of amaranth… and it was still too much!

if you’re not too familiar with amaranth, here’s a few things that i learned about this powerhouse grain (thanks to about.com):

1. it’s gluten-free!! …this definitely means i’m gonna keep some in my cupboard after the cleanse is over
2. it contains more protein than any other gluten-free grain, and also more protein than wheat!
3. it’s an excellent source of lysine, an important amino acid & is well-absorbed in the intestinal tract
4. amaranth contains more magnesium, fiber & iron than other gluten-free grains
5. it has lower grams of carbs compared to other gluten-free grains (white rice, brown rice & teff)
6. it’s a great source of vitamin e & polyunsaturated fats – similar to what’s found in olive oil

so many great things going on in this little grain…

finished product: amaranth porridge with dried figs, raisins & cinnamon!

so day #3 is complete, and the itching has subsided – which is great news! i also had a gnarly heat rash on my arm for a while, and it’s completely gone! so many good things are coming from this cleanse, especially better eating habits! i’m still sleeping for a good 8 hours, which is great because before i wasn’t getting enough sleep before. my body is doing what it needs to do – naturally. what a concept, right?

yerba mate chocolatte with raw honey in my sbux mug!

bring it on day #4… i’m ready.