A Revelation and a Recipe
Yoga class was not as fun as usual this morning. I was achy, I was tired, my body didn't want to do what I was asking it to do. New pains cropped up in poses that usually feel great. My mind didn't want to stay in class and went skittering off in ten directions. Harumph, I thought.
Then I began to wonder; why was my body so stiff? Well, I'd been sewing seams on a knitted tank top I'm making, and perhaps I didn't stretch enough afterwards. But that wouldn't make my foot hurt. Or keep my brain from settling down. I couldn't think of anything else that was out of the ordinary.
As I was lying in Corpse Pose at the end of the class, trying one last time to empty my mind and concentrate on my breath, it came to me. I've been eating all kinds of things this week that I don't usually have. White floury things. Sugary things. My body was reacting to the chemicals I'd put in it. Well, duh! What have I been studying and helping other people with for three years now? Apparently, I needed to perform one more experiment on myself, just to be absolutely sure that those foods aren't helpful for me. Boy was that a successful experiment! So now it's back to greens, whole grains and mostly vegetable proteins for me. Let's hope this is a lesson I don't have to keep re-learning...
When I got home from class I decided to make some hummus. We were out of tahini, so I had to improvise. I think I may have discovered something! Here's what I did:
Chickpea Improv
Ingredients:
1 can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 heaping tablespoon almond butter
1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic
8 or so leaves of fresh lemon basil (it's what I grew this year)
2 fresh peppermint leaves (also from the garden)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
The juice of 1 lemon (I would have put in some zest, too, if I could have found the zester)
1 teaspoon gomasio (ground sesame seeds and sea salt)
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Water
Directions:
Place all ingredients except water in a food processor and pulse until mixed. Add water slowly until smooth consistency is reached. Process for several more seconds.
That's it! Yummy! Now I'm off in search of some dark, leafy green things...