In reviewing some of the things that actually make yoga yoga, I have been posting about the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The first two limbs, the yamas and the niyamas are restraints and observances, respectively. I am working my way through posting about them and I am on the last of the yamas. The fifth yama is one that probably speaks to many of us. The fifth yama is about non-coveting, non-hoarding, non-clinging, non-possessiveness, non-greediness, non-grasping, etc. You get the picture. The fifth yama is aparigraha.
I think this is a big one in our have-to-have-the-latest-and-greatest-of-everything society. We covet the new electronic gizmo our neighbor has. We buy more than we need until our closets and garages are over flowing. We have so much stuff that there are places we can rent to store the stuff that doesn’t fit in our homes. We cling to the very idea that our lives will be better with more stuff. We are compelled to consume. And all of that is if we are just talking about material things.
There are other applications of aparigraha, just like with all the limbs and the other yamas, much could be and has been written about them. I am just barely scratching the surface. Another way to think about aparigraha and the “non-clinging” is letting go. Perhaps we cling to things that no longer serve us, whether they be ideas or habits or even long standing customs. Does everything we do serve us now? Could we learn more if we let go of something we have always thought to be? Would our lives improve if we didn’t do that thing that we have always done?
Another way it could be applied is to people or relationships whether we look at it as letting go or non-possessing. We might need to let someone go, a relationship that is no longer serving us. Perhaps we have just grown apart or we realize that the relationship is just not a healthy thing so we need to let go. Or, more directly related to teachers in my line of work and students, perhaps we need to let them go. We need to not think of students as ours, so when they visit other classes we are not offended. When they move on to different teachers we can practice aparigraha, by not getting hurt because they were “our” student. No matter the reason they moved on, we can happily let them go to move on to what is best for them.
I liked that example of the fifth yama very much. It is a great thing for me to remember and try to practice. I mean I already know about the rest and I seriously need to work on it – as evidence by my closets. But I liked the different way to look at it, too. I always feel funny saying “my” students because I don’t mean for it to sound like they are MINE, especially since at the Camden Community Center, where I have a bulk of my classes the students are students to many instructors.
As is the case with all the yamas, I need to work on this one. I am planning on practicing it big time as I do some Spring cleaning. Going to try to not-hoard, as is my habit with clothing. Might (notice I say might) part with more of my mom’s clothing, which I probably never will wear, but I was clinging to – for many reasons.
How about you? Do you have anything (whether it be a material object or an idea, habit, or custom) that you might practice aparigraha with?
Sometimes I write a post and I am not certain if I have written about the subject before. Sometimes I write a post and I know I have written about the subject before, I am just revisiting it. Sometimes things come up in life and I know I have written a post, but I am reminded that I wrote the post because it is a common issue or the post can be pointed to for information. Recently I was reminded of a things that could bear repeating so I am pointed out a few posts.
One thing I was reminded of was holding the breath. Have I ever told you that one of the things people ask me to do the most is remind them to breathe? I wrote a post about breathing properly and how important it is to allow you to move correctly. It is so common to hold your breath while concentrating there is a name for it. Read more about it in my post Breathing – It’s A Good Thing.
Recently in one of the Nia classes I taught we focused on the “Healing Sounds”. When I mention them there is always a few people who want the information . . . and that is why I wrote the post Feel Good Sounds. It is too difficult to remember which sound is associated with what, this way it is right there for all of us.
It is sugar pie pumpkin time again, and so we are going to have a pumpkin for dinner tomorrow night. So good, I wanted to point out the recipe, see my Pumpkin For Dinner post.
Perhaps you have been exposed to e-cigarettes lately. I seem to see then around more now. Perhaps you might be interested in reading my post Things I Didn’t Know About E-cigarettes?
And, this is for me, I always need to remind myself of the Nia Energy Allies or you might know them as the Four Agreements. They are so helpful in so many situations.
And then something new . . . . . since it is Halloween. My husband loves to dress up. Sometimes he gets pretty extravagant. This year he didn’t do too much, but he HAS been planning this “trick” for his co-worker for months. For some reason he wasn’t able to do it when he first came up with the idea, for her birthday. And then every time since that he has wanted to do it, something has come up . . . ya know, life does that sometimes. So he decided to do it for Halloween. Pretty much nothing was going to stop him. The stars and planets all aligned to be even better than when he originally planned it. But what he didn’t really plan – he said – was this video. He had an idea of what he was going to say, but when his co-worker took it, it came out perfect. So here is my husbandDoc Brown saving one of his friends.
Do you ever hold your breath? Have you ever made any of those “healing sounds”? Did you know some of the e-cigarettes have the same amount of nicotine as regular cigarettes? Are you familiar with Nia’s Energy Allies/Four Agreements? Do you get trick-or-treaters? Do you dress up for Halloween?
Many of you are familiar with Parks and Recreation Departments and classes they run through the Community Centers. These are classes that are in the booklets. There are ALL types of classes. There are music lessons, arts and crafts, exercise classes, cooking classes, language classes . . . . just all types of classes. They are set up in what many community centers call sessions. There might be a flower arranging class that is an eight week session, just meaning that there are eight times that class will meet. People must register and pay for all eight meetings prior to the first day of the class. Some of us have experienced the disappointment when we register for a class only to find out a few days before it is supposed to start, that not enough people have registered so the class is cancelled. That is always a bummer. In the City of San Jose Parks and Recreation Department they call these classes leisure classes. Presently there is also something in the San Jose Parks and Recreation Department called Group Ex. Group Ex is exercise classes. The Group Ex is more like a gym, in the sense that you pay a membership fee and then can attend any of the classes that are in the Group Ex program – plus the gym/exercise room – for that one fee. The Group Ex structure also allows for “drop-ins”, where people can participate in a class for a fee without having pre-registered or to be a member. These classes are on-going so they don’t have the same type of structure as a leisure/session class.
There arewere two ways you cancould become a member, one is monthly or you cancould purchase an annual membership. Both ways allow the member to attend any exercise class that is part of the Group Ex program. This program really got people out of the house and exercising. The cost of membership was unbeatable.
Most of the people who come to my Nia classes go to multiple classes per week, sometimes multiple classes per day. I hear them plan their weeks and their days with each other. They have it all worked out . . . their workouts.
I have been wanting to post something about the differences between Group Ex and Leisure classes for a long time. Because I teach both. The differences confuse some people. Some people are familiar with the leisure class way and they don’t even know there is something like Group Ex through the city. Some people who have never taken a leisure class (before there was even such a thing as Group Ex) are not familiar with that. So when I go to explain the different classes I teach it can be confusing. So I have been meaning to post something about it to help clarify.
Well, I guess the time is now. It is now because the city of San Jose is discontinuing the Group Ex program as of January 31, 2016. They are only going to have leisure classes. So that means that any class they have that you might want to take will be offered in “sessions”. So you will have to sign up for the entire session in order to take the class.
I want to let people know that just because the Parks and Recreation Department calls it a leisure class doesn’t mean it is just about “leisure”. They still might be offering some of the same exercise classes that are presently a part of the Group Ex program that allow you to get your workout on. It will just not be the type of format that you can just take anytime you want. You will have to sign up in advance for the entire the entire session.
I don’t know what classes they plan on offering, but I wanted to finally get a post up about the difference between leisure classes and Group Ex so when the time comes people will know the difference.
We still have three months of Group Ex before the change occurs. Next month on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, we are going to have a Nia class at 10:15 am at the Camden Community Center. So there will be four Nia classes a week at the Camden Community Center until January 31, 2016.
Click here to see a copy of the notification sent out from the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services.
I hope you will come dance with us at the Camden Community Center before the end of January!
Just yesterday I was visiting over on Twitter and I saw a tweet about cycling helping with migraines. That sounded very interesting to me. I, thankfully, don’t get migraines, but I feel as if I know a bunch of people who do. And a migraine is not just a headache, so I have great sympathy for migraine sufferers. I rarely get headaches and when I do, I do not like it. It is so uncomfortable. When I get a headache, since I rarely get them, I know there is a REASON. I don’t just GET headaches, there has to be SOMETHING that is making me have a headache. Most of the time I can figure it out and fix it. Sometimes I can figure it out but I can’t fix it, but at least I know why I have a headache. Headaches are awful. I know that migraines are WAY worse than headaches. Some have very severe pain, more than just “headache pain” and some migraine sufferers have additional symptoms like dizziness, blindness, vomiting, and more. So, as I said, I thought that “cycling for migraines” sounded interested. It was a video report.
First of all, I would call it “spinning” not cycling. But . . that is perhaps just me. I think of cycling as riding a bicycle and riding it outside. The video was about what many people call “spinning” as in riding a stationary bike in a spin class and the video does actually call it “indoor cycling”. I think that riding a bicycle outside is way different from riding a stationary bike in a class. One reason that spinning might be a good form of exercise for migraine sufferers is that the head can remain pretty much stationary. On a bike ride outside the could possibly be bouncing involved and jolting of the head might aggravate a migraine. So it makes sense that stationary would be better and could be good. It could be just be called “spinning” at the gyms and venues that I am familiar with.
So basically the video said that 36 million Americans suffer from migraines. Now I am guessing that the number stated are reported migraine sufferers. I bet there are a lot more people who don’t even go to the doctor or report to anyone that they suffer from migraines. So I imagine that is a low number. It also said that low impact exercise is good for migraine sufferers, because their head doesn’t move and there is not jolting.
The video also said that there was a Swedish study in 2008 where most of the participates showed improvement after being in a 3 month cycling program.
It ended the spinning segment by saying no one is saying that cycling (spinning) is a cure, but they are suggesting it can help people who suffer from migraines cope with the pain. Often time exercise helps people cope with pain and other things that are affecting them. It is a matter of finding the RIGHT exercise. Something that does not exacerbate the issues they are having. But movement helps so many areas of our being. I am always one to suggest Nia as an aide, but in the case of migraines I can understand how one might not want to move their head. I have never actually tried spinning. But I know in Nia we move the head a lot.
Do you suffer from migraines? Have you ever taken a spinning class?
Black onyx is a great stone because, well, it is black so it goes with everything. Also if you are one that believes stones and crystals have properties that can help in supporting well being then you might benefit from black onyx. The indication is that black onyx is good for releasing negative energy and helps with strengthening ones own energy. I was given a pair of onyx earrings by a friend this week in one of my Nia classes. She said she received them as a free gift when she purchased something and admitted that she was passing them on because she couldn’t wear them. I was thrilled, it was kind of her to think of me! I have been wearing them everyday since. Since I received them I have been interested in what properties it might have
The stone is thought to protect, heal, and ground. It is believed to help strengthen ones’ self confidence. With that in mind some information states it is a good stone to keep near when you are going through stressful situations and times when you might feel drained both physically and emotionally . . . times of grief and sorrow. Some believe it helps one make decisions, and if any of you have suffered a death of a loved one you might concede that it is difficult to make decisions during that process. Those properties would be helpful. In addition there are beliefs that it helps one regain emotional balance as well as elevating fears and worries. All things that are needed when a loved one dies. Of course, those things can be helpful when facing just the everyday challenges of life, it doesn’t even have to be a situation of great sorrow and/or loss. Most of us could benefit from strengthening of our energy and self confidence.
Additional information states there is the idea that black onyx helps treat bone disorders and blood disorders. One site Sobrietystones.com claims that this stone is “The Stone of Self Mastery and Self Control”. And “Can be used to deflect or absorb the negativity of others, and in that way is a good stone for protection from negative forces and influences.”
The combined information leads to the idea that this stone helps stabilize emotions. I can see that one feeling more in control would feel as if their emotions are more stable and not so up and down. Basically, to me with the main benefits of the stone all the other stuff seems logical. With the ridding of negative energy one can feel more confident. If one is more confident they have more faith in their decisions and have an easier time at making them. When confident and able to make decision it is almost inevitable that the emotional roller coaster ride would end.
So . . . this sounds like a good stone to have around. Especially if it is jewelery, because as I said, it goes with everything.
What do you think? Could you use a stone that could ward off negative energy? Would you like something to wear that gives you more confidence? Do you have anything that goes with black?
This week my friend and Nia student, Dr. Tanya Baldwin, invited me to her Foot Fitness Workshop she was holding today. I shy away from stuff that has me working on my feet. I tend to think I have to “save” my feet for my classes. But, it occurred to me that thinking like that might be backwards. I started thinking it would be a good idea to see what type of exercises and care I could do for my feet. I think that Nia and yoga are great ways to exercise the feet. Since both are done barefoot they allow for an individual to practice using the feet the way there were designed to be used. Nia is done barefoot so that we can bend and flex and move our feet to help them with strength and balance. But this workshop was solely (ha, ha, ha!) for the feet. It was an amazing workshop. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone with feet.
It was very informative and FASCINATING. First it wasn’t so surprising that each of us had different issues with our feet. So along that same line it wasn’t surprising that the different exercises presented different challenges for each of us. What was surprises was how somewhat tiring it was. Some of the exercises were as much BRAIN exercises as foot/muscles exercises. Somewhat like what some of the things we do in Nia are – brain stuff! With a couple of them the movement we were supposed to do with our foot was opposite of what we normally do. For example pointing and flexing the foot. Now when you point your toes you “point” your foot. And when you flex your foot, your toes flex, too. In one exercise we were pointing our toes then flexing our foot yet keeping our toes pointed. It was hilarious. Because at first the foot just doesn’t do it . . . but then it will, but you have to really think about it. Or for some, even HOLD your toes in the point.
There were other exercises that really require thought. Which is always great because that means that you are changing up patterns – both movement patterns and brain patterns. So it is a win-win.
We started out with a self-assessment so we could see where we were at the start then sense how we felt at the end. This included holding a pen (or not) and writing (or not) with our toes. Then we did eleven “manual releases” without any props. So just using our hands and the floor. Some of these were not enjoyable for me. My foot that I injured a few years back is very “stuck”. So it did not enjoy some of the movements we did.
Then we had a soft spiky ball that lit up. YUP! That was really part of the fun. Dr. Baldwin mentioned that at first she didn’t care for the lighting up part, but then she realized it could serve as a tool to help you see if you are putting enough pressure on the ball. With this spiky ball, after another self-assessment, we rolled our foot over it and performed an exercise or two.
Then, our next set of exercises was with a towel. YUP, a towel, a hand towel. So this was great because maybe you don’t want to purchase a soft spiky ball, but most people have hand towels. We did a variety of grabbing and moving the towels with our toes. This portion included some other exercises (doming, inchworm, tapping, and strumming toes) without the towel.
Then we used a Theraband. We did several exercises and stretches with the band. This is the section where we did the pointed toes and flexed foot. This section is the one that had me thinking a lot. It was as if I had to keep my body from doing what it normally did. It had to “forget” all that it has in its muscle memory. The best tip from this section was when using the band to stretch the feet include the toes in the band. I guess I think of the bands as stretching legs so I put the band over the arch of my foot. Well, if the band is over the foot AND the toes, the toes can get involved in the stretching. Ha! Brilliant!
Then there was a section titled “Toe Corrector”. Um . . . I don’t think my toes enjoyed being “corrected”. We used a rubber band around our big toes and did various movements including walking, which was funny to me because — let’s just say I could use more practice walking.
The next section was Reflexology which sounds really nice, but it was the one that had us groaning the most. This was done with a smaller than usual tennis ball. We stood and rolled the ball under the various portions of our feet. It is like that stretch or massage you know is good for you, but kinda doesn’t FEEL like it is good for you at the moment.
Then there was one last quick thing to help feet. Kneeling with your toes curled. By this time my right foot was tired so it didn’t care for the desired pose, where you are sitting on your heels. But I was ok with the modifications where you take the weight off the toes by stretching forward and leaning on your arms.
This was a great workshop. My feet are actually feeling pretty good. Although I have to teach almost every day next week so I think I will soak them tonight just to help them recover further.
Easy(ish) things to do to help the feet. Do you pamper your feet? Do you specifically exercise your feet?
Nia has been a cardio-dance workout since 1983. It is not as well known as some other cardio dance exercises. So when we have events, such as Nia Jams, Playshops, Plearns, Workshops, Intensives, Master Classes in addition to attending and enjoying these events I ALWAYS think of those things as opportunities to take pictures and videos. I always think that the pictures and videos can be posted on social media so that we can “get Nia out there” so it becomes more well known. The videos and pictures are meant to show people how fun it is. The pictures and videos are to show that it is a workout. The videos and pictures are meant to show people how anyone can do Nia. I was so caught up in getting people signed in and getting things ready to go for the Nia Class that I recently produced, I neglected to ask permission to take and post pictures and videos. But . . . I also had it in my head that it is well known that while we do our Nia events we want to have pictures of them to promote our Nia events. Well . . . . this is the result of me not doing due diligence and gaining permission BEFORE taking the pictures and the videos. These are some of the pictures and videos from the Nia Class on Friday, March 27, 2015. I have posted other pictures where I had to block someone out, but never videos. It takes a long time, so this is the end result of a non-professional video editor (me).
As I stated in my post, What Did Frankie Say?, on Saturday after the Nia Class, Jason Alan Griffin, a First Degree Nia Black Belt is travel the United States presenting his Nia routine he calls Frankie Say Nia. I didn’t do well, at all, with the dressing in the 80’s style, but I did think the animal print would work. My little head top pony-tail was supposed to be a tribute to the “BIG HAIR” of the 80’s. I didn’t bother actually doing my hair up in that BIG way because after the first song it would have just been flat.
Nia IS a cardio-dance WORKOUT and the routine followed the classic Nia style with all seven cycles of a Nia workout. And in keeping with the seven cycles this routine has a focus and an intent. The focus being the Creative Hand and Arm Expressions. The intent is to allow us to relax into personal power.
The routine is full of fun and familiar songs, except the last three. There were three songs in the Floorplay section and the first one just struck me as odd. I don’t mind dancing to odd music. Dancing to odd music is fun. And, in fact, part of the Nia White Belt Training gets us to dance to music that might be considered undanceable by many. I have yet to come across music that is undanceable, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think some of it is odd. And it wasn’t so much that it was odd, it was that I couldn’t remember ever hearing it before. Jason, kindly reminded me again (because I asked him at least three times and couldn’t remember still) that it was Ghost Town by the Specials. I was also trying to follow the moves and allow myself to dance, so I didn’t even listen to all the words. It is a very varied song. I am listening to it now as I type and it is making me laugh!
Regardless of my error in not getting permission beforehand and regardless of the less-than-professional job of “editing”, I believe it is still obvious that fun was had by all. It was a great time. I still have the Playshop to post about. I will get to that eventually. So stay tuned! We can’t wait to have Jason back for more Nia. I will keep you posted so next time you can join us!
I am still doing my Goodie Jar, are you? I know there are a ton of versions out there. Some people have “Happiness Jars” or “Smile Jars”. Some people have a goal of putting something in the jar every day. Some people’s goals are for once a week. Of course, none of the “rules” matter really, except the one that motivates you to remember your blessings. That is really the point. To have a little reminder of the blessings or things that make you happy, things that make life worth living. There is so much going on in the world and in our lives it is sometimes easy to get distracted. The jar — however you utilize it, is just a way of reminding yourself about the good. Good things in the Goodie Jar.
My hubby and I are using ours. I have Christmas wrapping paper cut up. And some other pretty wrapping paper. We have little sheets of note paper. All kinds of papers to use. Plus we both are putting our tickets in there. We have been blessed with Sharks tickets so those go in the Goodie Jar – win or lose, because a night out with each other is a WIN for us! It turns out that the San Jose Sharks lost, but it was a really exciting game. Or . . . to me it was. I know that people who go to more games than me might have a different opinion, but I thought it was exciting. I am much better at actually tracking the puck. I still “lose” it sometimes, but not as much as my first game. Hockey is so much more exciting and action packed than baseball.
Then there is our trip a couple of weekends ago. That is DEFINITELY a Goodie Jar item. That was a well needed trip. And it was so wonderful. The weather was awesome. I bet if we had gone this weekend it would have been too hot for me. It seems the weather is warming up here.
Then there is our beef. That is always a good Goodie Jar item. I have explained before how lucky I am that my hubby will eat pretty much anything. And he loves beef. So he has been pretty good about my experimenting with cooking the grass-fed beef we bought. It cooks so differently than regular beef. It is just mind-blowing. I was in a rush tonight as the game started 30 minutes earlier than I realized. I put the steak in a really hot oven and hoped for the best. It cooked well even though it didn’t look cooked–as usual. The flavor was meat, which I don’t prefer, but . . . it was dinner. And dinner helps us not need to eat the food at the game.
I still have Nia students in my Nia classes. The San Jose City Nia classes are really going well.
So many things to be thankful for. So many things that will bring a smile to my face at the end of the year! Filling up that jar! Yipee! It is really nice to have something to document the smiles.
Well? Are you doing a jar? What type? What are your “rules”? Got any good things you want to share?
More often than not in my Nia classes we have a physical focus. A focus and an intent in an exercise class is not easy for some people. So having a focus that is physical seems, for many, to be easier than a focus that is not. I know I have mentioned this before because I know I have talked about focuses before. Today, as always, I asked my class if “they had anything”. Usually someone comes up with a physical thing . . . sore neck, tight hamstrings, aching back, tight shoulders . . . ya know, something physical. Today someone said, “Unstuck.” I had overheard her mention something about being “stuck” while I was getting ready to teach, and I thought that would be a great focus, but I wasn’t sure how to do that. So I said, “Yeah, I heard you mention that, but I am not sure how to do that.” Someone else piped in about being stuck, too. And I laughed and commented that if I knew how to get “unstuck” I wouldn’t ever be stuck. And the “stuck” we were talking about was a feeling of being stuck either in an emotion or a situation or just the feeling of being stuck! So we focused on getting “unstuck”.
The person that originally mentioned feeling stuck was happy to hear that others sometimes felt that way. That is something I learned about feelings they are like questions . . . if one person has it (the feeling or the question) there is at least one other person that does too. There are no stupid feelings. Now, I do believe there are no stupid feelings, but I will admit to being guilty of thinking and sometimes even saying that as a knee-jerk reaction to someone I love saying something I think of as not nice about themselves. If one were to say, “I feel ugly.” “I feel like a bad person.” My automatic reaction is “that’s stupid you aren’t . . . ” But if they FEEL that way that is not stupid. So I am still learning to curb that reaction. But I digress . . . back to getting unstuck.
As I said, I wasn’t sure how to dance “unstuck”. I wasn’t sure how to make that a focus, but then I decided . . . . because I believe . . . that sometimes just thinking about it can help things move along. So my thoughts were that if you were feeling stuck, just acknowledging it and moving with it could be enough to unstick it. Or it could be enough to think of an idea on how to “unstick” it. Or it could just open you up to an idea that is going to come later. Just all types of stuff. We agreed that dancing with the focus of getting unstuck and the intent of being open to that and whatever it meant and however we could achieve that would be our focus and intent for the class.
One person mentioned not getting “too unstuck” which gave me the opportunity to remind people that we are dancing our own interpretation. When I suggest people move as if they are floating in water, everyone moves in their own way. They imagine their own “floating in water”. The same with getting “unstuck”. One can get as “unstuck” as they feel they need to be. The person that mentioned this left early so I didn’t get to delve into what she meant . . . because it could mean so many things.
After class, I actually felt better and a little less stuck. “Unstuck” could relate to letting go or being loose. It is one of those things that if you are feeling anything related and you focus on it with the intent of acknowledging it or relieving it, it can just happen.
For those that are challenged with focusing on things that are not strictly physical “unstuck” works for that because one could have a tight muscle that is “stuck”. Or a joint that might need some loosening because it feels “stuck”. So dancing to “unstick” is really a great focus.
I am always amazed at how my class comes up with such great things to focus on. I am further amazed at how so often what they come up with is something I am feeling the same need for. Getting “unstuck” is great.
Do you ever feel “stuck”? In what way? What do you do to get “unstuck”?
I have mentioned that my husband and I have purchased a portion of a cow. My friend that has done all the work in regards to researching grass-fed beef and the procurement of the cow is a chef. When we talk about the beef – she forgets she no longer has to “sell” me on it – she says it is so nice to know she has meat in the freezer for dinner and she loves that she doesn’t have to go to the store for dinner. I am unfamiliar with that feeling because 1) I primarily cook what I have. Unlike her I just look at what I have, then I decide what to cook. It is not often I think, “Oh I want this (this, specific thing that requires specific meat) today” and go about making it. But such is the creative life of a talented chef (my friend). 2) I forget to take it out to defrost. THAT is my problem. I forget to take the meat out. I don’t always wake up thinking, “What should I make for dinner?” And even when or if I do, by the time I get out of bed and make my way downstairs, I forget to go directly to the freezer to take out for defrosting, whatever I was thinking I could make for dinner. My friend suggested a method that works and speeds up the process.
As we were talking I shared with her my preferred method and she did not like it. She expressed concern over the safety of it, but it works for me except when I forget to take whatever I am defrosting out of the oven before I turn it on. I usually think of taking something out of the freezer to thaw after my Nia classes, in the middle of any work I am doing . . . so about 2:00 or 3:00 pm.
In her infinite knowledge my friend told me to put the meat on metal. I am sure many of you know that and might even employ the method. I know that metal conducts cold but I never thought about it defrosting meat.
It works VERY well. I can take some meat out in the afternoon and cook it in the evening. That same evening. One thing I do, is I switch metal. So if I need it to defrost faster I switch the metal the meat is on. So I put the meat on a metal pan, then when the pan is cold, I switch to a new pan. Works fast. I have not tried BIG cuts of meat, because a big cut takes more planning to cook for me than taking it out in the afternoon for cooking that same evening. I bet it would work, but take a long time. I am sure it will help make the process happen faster, but not as fast as I need.
So, I understand that this might not be new to a lot of people, but I thought I would share for those that hadn’t thought about it. This has made my life a lot easier. I hope that it can help ease your dinner “pain” and make your life easier.
Did you know about the metal method? How do you defrost your meat?
In reviewing some of the things that actually make yoga yoga, I have been posting about the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The first two limbs, the yamas and the niyamas are restraints and observances, respectively. I am working my way through posting about them and I am on the last of the yamas. The fifth yama is one that probably speaks to many of us. The fifth yama is about non-coveting, non-hoarding, non-clinging, non-possessiveness, non-greediness, non-grasping, etc. You get the picture. The fifth yama is aparigraha.
Another way it could be applied is to people or relationships whether we look at it as letting go or non-possessing. We might need to let someone go, a relationship that is no longer serving us. Perhaps we have just grown apart or we realize that the relationship is just not a healthy thing so we need to let go. Or, more directly related to teachers in my line of work and students, perhaps we need to let them go. We need to not think of students as ours, so when they visit other classes we are not offended. When they move on to different teachers we can practice aparigraha, by not getting hurt because they were “our” student. No matter the reason they moved on, we can happily let them go to move on to what is best for them.
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