What to eat before yoga class......

Whether you come to an early morning asana class, or usually stop by for class on your way home from work, you've probably been faced with the dilemma of what to eat before class.

Twisting, forward bending and inverting can be less than blissful when your stomach is full of heavy, greasy food. But do fruits and veggies have enough fat and protein to keep you going through the most rigorous vinyasa practice? What should you eat to keep you going all the way to Savasana?

1. Nuts

A handful of nuts (I prefer cashews and walnuts) is a perfect pre-yoga snack. Their fat and protein will keep your energy levels up and their fiber will keep you feeling full. Plus, nuts are easily digestible, meaning your energy won't be spent on digesting food, but instead available for supporting your practice.

2. Dates

The sugar in the dates will slowly release, keeping your energy levels up for your entire practice. Dates are also a good source of fiber, so you won't feel hungry again before your practice over. Dates are packed with vitamins and minerals. Dates are also high in potassium which helps maintain proper fluid balance in your body, and plays a role in fueling your muscles.

3. Protein Smoothies

PlantFusion protein powder, coconut water, spinach and berries blend together for a perfect pre-yoga snack. The plant based protein in PlantFusion is perfect for providing muscle energy. Coconut water helps balance electrolytes. Spinach is great for bone health, and berries provide a great source of antioxidants. Put these together and you have one powerful combination. Plus, a small smoothie before class won't leave you full and uncomfortable for your practice.

4. Kit Bars

If convenience is what you want in your pre-yoga snack, Kit's Organic Fruit and Nut Bars by Clif are your answer. With many flavors to choose from, you could have a different snack each day of the week. Just throw one in your bag on the way out the door. My favorite is Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut.....made with Organic Dates, Organic Almonds, Organic Unsweetened Dark Chocolate, Organic Coconut, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Sea Salt. These are perfect blend of fat and protein and carry the health benefits of many of the options listed above. Plus, with the dark chocolate, they taste so much like a treat you'll forget they are healthy!

5. Bananas

Bananas provide many of the same benefits as dates, are portable, and readily accessible at any market. An obvious pre-yoga snack!


With these five healthy and delicious options, you'll never have to come to class hungry again. Tell us, what are some of your favorite pre-yoga snacks?


Carrie Klaus, E-RYT

Earth Day

Earth Day is an important day for us to draw awareness to the way we care for (or don't care for) our Mother Earth. It is a day to thank Mother Earth for her many gifts to us. But, at Inner Spring Yoga, we think EVERY DAY should be Earth Day! Below are some of our instructors tips on how we can repay Mother Earth by living a more conscious and sustainable lifestyle.

Carrie says:

"I believe the single most important thing you can do to heal our planet is to adopt a plant-based diet!

 Each vegetarian saves over an acre of trees every year. We are destroying not only our U.S. forest land, but also the rainforest, at an alarming rate, all for the sake of raising cattle for food. More than half of the water consumed in the United States is used for raising animals for food.  It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of hamburger.....that's over 250 five-minute showers for just one pound of meat. As a vegan, I could leave my tap running all day and not consume as much water as a meat eater.

Eating meat pollutes our air and our waters as well. Animal agriculture is responsible for over 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions....that's more than the entire transportation industry combined. One single hamburger patty requires enough fossil fuel to drive your car 20 miles! And animals on factory farms produce 87,000 pounds of waste PER SECOND (130 times the amount of excrement produced by the entire human population). Much of that waste flows into our our nations streams and rivers.

We all eat 3 or more times a day. If you really want to do something useful for the health of our planet change what's on your plate!"

Laura says:

"Use a glass or stainless steel water bottle, and carry it with you wherever you go. Drinking water is the #2 self-care non-negotiable, so you should be drinking lots of it!

I would also say, eat off of real plates and use real utensils. Avoid plastics at all meals. Carry re-usable dinnerware and utensils with you to potlucks and family gatherings and set an example for others to follow!"

  Cindy says:

"Let's go outside on Mother's Day. We'll sit down on the ground, dig a hole in the dirt and gently drop in a tomato plant. We'll love and care for it every day, helping it take root and grow. Then one day we'll pick the ripe fruit from it's vine, take a delicious bite, and let the miraculous juice run down our chin. We'll close our eyes, breathe, and say "Thank you Mother Earth. We are grateful.

Lydia says:

"Invite your favorite buddies over to celebrate the bounty of Mother Earth. She will blush with the love you harvest. Cook together, swap veggies, and make avocado face masks.

Also, adopt! Don't shop! So many sweet furry friends are in need of good homes.  Please don't support breeding more pets."

Anne says:

"Breastfeed at least up to 6 months. Breast milk is a renewable resource and creates no pollutants. Plus, it's the most nutritionally sound food you can give to your baby!

And, use cloth diapers. Over 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown into landfills each year....and they aren't biodegradable!

There's a learning curve with both of these suggestions, for sure......but both are worth the effort!"

Perla says:

"Be a conscious grocery shopper! Shop at local farmer's markets whenever possible. Use your reusable grocery bags! Use less plastic! Decompose your leftover vegetable and fruit scraps into the soil for less trash build-up. And of course, lean toward a more vegan/vegetarian diet. One step at a time. It doesn't get easier, you only get better!"

Selfish........

 

I’ll just say it.

I’m selfish.

Absolutely, positively 100% selfish.

I’m putting my own needs at the top of my list of priorities. I’m putting on my own air mask before helping others. I’m finally recognizing that I need something in my life, and I’m making it happen. I’m putting dusting and laundry and dishes and vacuuming lower on my to do list than yoga. I’m opening up the windows, cranking the music, and getting lost in the present moment when I “should be” planning meals, going to the grocery, or picking up toys.

Yep. I recognize and value my own well being and what I can contribute to the world. Therefore, I’m selfish, right?

Somewhere along the way, as we women began climbing the corporate ladder and fighting for the equality we so righteously deserve, we seem to have put ourselves last. We have redefined taking care of ourselves and labeled it “being selfish”. We judge each other if a friend’s house isn’t spotless. We think meeting other people’s expectations is more important than finding our own joy.

So, yes. I’m selfish. Because one day, between running from work to the grocery store…  and vacuuming while trying to sing to my daughter... and scrubbing the baseboards at 1 AM because that was the only time I could fit it into my schedule… and trying to come to grips with the fact that one of my best friends was dying from cancer… I just stopped. I was tired. I was miserable. I wasn’t a good mother nor a good wife, nor a good friend. As my friend was dying, she still came to visit us, to be silly and to make some amazing memories with us. I’ll be eternally grateful to her because in her last few months in that cancer-ridden body, she taught me that the only thing that matters is this exact moment. RIGHT NOW. If what you’re doing right now doesn’t make you happy, don’t do it. It’s that simple.

Being mindful of this exact moment is my yoga.

My yoga could be a few quiet minutes reading a book that lights up my mind. It’s rolling out my mat and moving my body in a way that leaves me grateful for the breath that keeps me alive. It’s ensuring I have a few minutes each day for meditation to purify my thoughts. It’s recognizing when I’m distracted and shutting down my family when I should be engaging and connecting. Yoga for me is quieting that critical voice that says the guy who just cut me off is a jerk who can’t drive. My yoga fills my heart with love and admiration for my husband and kids and gives me the wisdom to soak in each moment of it. It allows me to silence the ego that pushes me to work harder, faster, and fancier.

Yoga allows me to connect with others on a deeper level, to appreciate their stories, and to accept them without judgment.

A decade ago, I would have said that yoga was my way to stay fit. It was a way to keep trim and toned. It was a bit of a stress reliever as I was in the midst of proving my worth and potential so I could have a successful career. It was my time to be quiet after speaking to a full classroom for eight hours.

Along this journey over that decade, I’ve grown wiser, happier, healthier, and closer to my family. I can give freely. I can love them freely. I can love myself freely. As I’ve been chasing each day, I’ve been busy living the life I want to live, not just being busy wishing I could. This journey isn’t over yet though. The next phase is only just beginning.

I want to share yoga. Many of us seek permission of sorts to do what we know in our hearts is the right thing to do. I want to help others find their own voice and give themselves permission to let go of the worry and negativity.

Once one realizes how much more there is, it’s impossible not to want others to have the same. So now, I’m thirsty to know more, and the real adventure begins… 

 Kim began practicing yoga to escape the stresses of a corporate job with a heavy travel schedule. Throughout a handful of moves across the country, yoga has provided a sense of home and stability.A learner by profession, Kim is passionate about helping others learn, and she's on a mission to inspire others to ditch the guilt, eliminate the busy-ness that consumes our society, and enjoy a balanced life stemming from self-empowerment and kindness.