JUNE NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the Big Sky Yoga Retreats monthly newsletter! We've got lots of exciting things planned, including full yoga class podcasts - so keep watching this space!
Like our retreats, the newsletter will offer you the best seasonal selections for yoga and health tips that you can use everyday. While coming on a retreat is the ultimate gift you can give yourself, people always wonder how they can bring some of the benefits home too. That's what our newsletter is all about.
Montana Musings - Yogic horseback riding
I've been taking horseback riding lessons with Annie and Belle (Belle is the horse), and just decided to lease Belle for the summer. This means I am hanging out with her quite a bit. This very new experience of horses (while learning to ride and have a horse was a childhood dream, before now I've only ever been on horseback a handful of times) has been like holding a mirror up to reflect some of my not-so-positive habitual patterns; for example, I asked my instructor Annie the other day how long it usually takes on average to catch a horse. Catching your horse is the first thing you have to do before anything else can happen, and there have been a few times where I wasn't sure I was going to accomplish this seemingly simple first step! (note that horses are not like dogs, they don't come when you call them.) Annie responded, "horses don't have a schedule". OK, I get it; but I kept coming back to what she said repeatedly and reflecting on how I could apply this simple statement about horses to my life. With a young daughter, my own business and a seemingly endless list of things to juggle, my life is meticulously scheduled. Otherwise, nothing gets accomplished. I am used to viewing everything I am doing through the lens of how much time it is taking up. Clearly not what hanging out with a horse ought to be about, right? So Belle has already taught me one of yoga's many lessons - letting go of habitual patterns of behavior (in Sanskrit called samskaras) that we get stuck in. And the riding...? I feel like I am learning yoga all over again! Finding my breath, relaxing my muscles yet engaging them, and coordinating new types of body movements atop Belle was nerve-wracking at first (especially when coupled with the fear of falling off). But I've noticed that I am able to tap into the same internal resources I use in my yoga practice: ujayii breath, body awareness, clearing of mind clutter. When I do, it is much easier to synchronize my movements with Belle's and move together in harmony. Which goes down on my list as one of the most incredible feelings ever - not unlike that feeling you get from a great yoga practice. There you have it - yoga on horseback.
Here's our recommended recipe and yoga pose of the month; our June recipe comes courtesy of Chef Scott from the Big EZ, our fabulous retreat location!
RECIPE - summer is salmon season - be sure and try and find fresh, wild salmon (vs. previously frozen or farm raised). In my opinion, salmon is one of the healthiest and best tasting fish choices out there; even my 2 year old loves it. I love thinking about all the health-promoting omega-3 essential fatty acids I'm taking in when I prepare salmon at least twice a week. Find out more about the health benefits of salmon here. Enjoy this quick and easy summer dish with the pretty pink fish:
Poached Salmon with dill cucumbers & mustard
serves 2
8 oz fresh salmon
1 cucumber, seeded & cut into half moons
2 teaspoons fresh chopped dill
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
dry white wine
salt to taste
fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup diced onion, celery, and carrot
water
Portion salmon into 4 oz servings and reserve. Combine water, the vegetables, white wine and salt and pepper to taste, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes to release the flavor of the ingredients. When this is finished strain the liquid through a sieve or cheesecloth, and put the liquid in a shallow sauce pan - this is your poaching court bouillon.
Bring the court bouillon to a gentle simmer and add your salmon fillets. Cook to your desired doneness - medium is recommended. While your salmon is cooking, heat a saute pan and add the butter, heating til it foams. Then add your cucumbers and gently saute til just heated through, but still keeping a crisp texture. Remove from the heat and add the fresh dill. When the salmon is finished cooking remove from the court bouillon. Place a mound of cucumbers in the center of a plate and top with the salmon fillet. Now take the pan you used for the cucumbers (it's important to leave the juices from the cucumbers in the pan) and add 2 tablespoons of the court bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce for one minute, then combine the Dijon mustard, whisking until smooth and creamy. Outline the salmon with your sauce. Serve with fresh bread and a simple salad.
POSE - baddha konasana, or bound angle pose, is a pose I've been thinking about a lot while on horseback. The same opening of the hips allows the heels to drop down in the stirrups and facilitates using your inner leg muscles to direct the horse. Open hips are beneficial for a lot more than horseback riding - how about just releasing tension? The first place we normally think of as holding tension is the neck and shoulder area; but the hips also collect a great deal of our stress so working to open them is a worthy cause. Counter tight hips from sitting all day in a chair, and also from summer activities like hiking and biking. It's a lovely beginning hip opener for everyone.
HOW - Sit down on a lightly padded service (such as a yoga mat) and reach back to take your butt cheeks out and back, so that you can feel your sit bones on the bottom of your pelvis connect to the floor. Bring the soles of your feet together, about 4-6 inches from the hips (the more open your hips and knees are, the closer your feet will come in). If your knees are not dropping very far, you can place blocks or blankets under them for support. Interlace your fingers underneath your feet, taking care not to pull the toes up. Keep a light and relaxed grip. Now tune in to your posture - draw your navel in towards your spine to activate your core and straighten your back. Relax your shoulders and lift your chin slightly. You may remain here, or begin to slowly and gently come forward with your upper body, keeping a straight back and directing your chin towards the floor in front of you. Think about lengthening your spine - stop coming forward when your back starts to round. Hold for 25 slow, deep breaths. When you finish, straighten your legs out in front of you for a moment before getting up.
HEALTH TIP - Learn something new. Learning to horseback riding has awakened and reignited my learning abilities, and it is really refreshing. Engaging the attention and awareness it requries to learn something new is something we aren't that comfortable with as adults. It is challenging to step outside of our comfort zone and try something we might not be - gasp - so good at. It is humbling to surrender to the guidance of another, and also requires an element of trust to allow someone to teach you. Consider opportunities to learn every day, big and small, from people, from animals, from situations.
Happy learning!
Namaste,
Margaret
Newsletter archives:
May 2007
June 2007
July/August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007