Ok, so…go to

www.BrittanyTrubridge.com !!!

Peace and love, Britta

1. yamas: The 5 restraints of thought, word and deed:

-ahimsa (non violence) *siddhi: no animosity/no enimies

-satya (truthfulness) *siddhi: the perfection of speech

-asteya (no stealing) *siddhi: all riches come to the yogi

-bramacharya (celibacy) *siddhi: tremendous energy and virtues spontaneously manifest.

-aparigrapha (non acceptance of gifts) *siddhi:knowledge of past lives and the purpose of this one.

2. niyamas: The 5 observances:

-saucha (external and internal cleanliness) *siddhi: gains absolute indifference towards the body and purity of the mind.

-santosha (contentment, avoiding complaining) *siddhi: supreme happiness

-tapas (austerities, self control but in a gentle way, not one that harms the body) *siddhi:clairvoyance and other supernatural powers

-swadhyaya (self study and study of the scriptures) *siddhi:vision of God/the divine

-ishwara pradhihana (self surrender, abide in the presence of God at all times) *siddhi: samadi

3. asanas: steady postures used for for meditation and the transcendence of the body. *siddhi:mind transcends the pairs of opposites (pleasure/pain, hot/cold etc.)

4. pranayama: life force/breath control. The mind is said to ride upon the breath, so upon controlling the breath mind-control is achieved as well. Pranayama is an essential preparation for absolute control and concentration.*siddhi:destroys negative karma and breaks the veil of ignorance

5. pratyhara: The withdrawal and internalization of the senses.

6. dharana: concentration. The act of internalizing all of ones senses and bringing them towards the mind.

7. dhyana: meditation (deep dharana)

8. samadi: realization (deep dhyana)

The final 3 limbs are essentially of the same nature but of varying degrees.

Reaching Samadi allows for the mind to unite with consciousness and to reach full potential allowing it to extract complete understanding of the reality of all things. Siddhis resulting in solidifying the yamas and niyamas can also lead straight to samadi, which is why the foundation is so crucial.

Peace and love, Britta

While I was in New Zealand, I delved into some of William’s mum’s books and found one on the Tao. I was especially interested in a part that I read called, “6 Sounds for the Benefit of the Inner Organs”. On our way back to the Bahamas, as we swung through Santa Monica, we had a Kundalini class with Maya Feines, and I was surprised when she used one of these sound mantras in her class. The sounds are:

Ha: vibrates at the heart

Hu: vibrates at the spleen

Shi: vibrates at the solar plexus

SSSSS: vibrates at the lungs

Shu: vibrates at the liver

Fu: vibrates at the kidney

Practicing the repetition of anyone of these sounds while in a seated upright position, from the beginning of a full inhale until the breath has been extinguished, and with the mind fixed on (healing intention) the corresponding organ, is said to greatly benefit that particular organ. I have not yet tried it myself, but I have great faith in ancient wisdom and am an advocate of incorporating any preventative or healing methods into one’s daily life.

Side note: I have added heaps of new course information on the side bar.

Peace and love, Britta

It’s Earth Day! And I am way overdue on updating. Vertical Blue 2011 has officially dispersed leaving us with heaps of new records, lots of food and a bunch of stuff to clean up. This event was incredibly nurturing for me given that there was a more balanced ratio of women to men involved, which meant lots of new friends and girl time I really felt that this year’s event was one of the best yet, and I’m incredibly proud of Natalia Molchanova and my husband, William, for setting two new world records.

Now that things are settling down I am in the process of centering and grounding myself and easing back into a swing. Our friends Brian and Jeannette came to help with the event and are staying until mid-May so Jeannette and I have decided to trade services for the next two weeks. Jeannette is a massage therapist and does Reiki and energy work, so we are trading dive lessons and yoga classes for massages and energy work. Not a bad deal at all!! I’m really looking forward to gaining some new insight as to what is going on in my body and to work on clearing any blocked energies that I may have accumulated.

I have slacked a bit on the veganism during the event, mostly because there were so many dinners and get togethers and they didn’t always all cater to my dietary needs so I made exceptions -butter on my broccoli, a piece of cake or chocolate here and there, etc. I’m feeling a little overloaded on toxins though so these next few weeks should straighten my body back out. I’m also super stoked to get back into diving as it has been almost a month since I’ve hit the depths.

My yoga practice has reached a new level. It’s strange how this happens -it’s such a slow process and often times there is little progress to be seen and then one day, voila, it’s there. You can hold that crazy new pose, or you can twist or bend into that position, or suddenly that pain you’ve been working at has cleared, or you are learning to experience your breath in a whole new way. It’s truly amazing. And since I have reversed my flow I can feel the energy slowly rising up my body and have an inkling as to a few places where it may be getting stuck, so hopefully Jeanette will be able to help me with that!

There are so many new recipes, but I am not sure I care to photograph and share them all, mostly because I have lost interest in doing that. I am good at respecting my capacity, so if and when the urge comes back I’ll be sure to update you.

My site will also be undergoing some renovation again in the near future. Mostly content oriented renovation, but I am Rich, Happy, and Hotting and re-Fire Starting, so the application of this knowledge is in the process. I have already added a new link to the sidebar to an organization called “Plan”, that Jeanette turned me onto. It is an organization that hooks sponsors up to children worldwide, and Will and I are going to sponsor a little girl. It’s really a wonderful feeling, especially for those who do not have children and want to feel that connection.

We have just over one month left on the island before we head off to Dubai. I will be teaching in conjunction with Will’s diving course, and also holding a separate yoga class there as well.

Peace and love to you all Britta

William and I

The World Champs and I

Jeannette and I

The VB girls

www.pamelaholtzman.com

She’s a really good cook too

In a food processor I blended:
5 pieces of bread
The flesh of a coconut
1tsp salt
1tsp oregano
1tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1/2 onion

Then I made the dough into little patties and sautéed them over low heat in a little bit of olive oil

I served them with mango salsa and dhal.

Dhal:

In a food processor I blended a big handful of baby carrots then tossed them into a pan with 1 diced red pepper, green pepper, and 1/2 onion with a bit of olive oil and sautéed until cooked.

Mixed it with some lentils that I had left over from the other night and added a tbsp of curry powder, tsp chili powder, a tsp of chili flakes, a tbsp of cumin and a tbsp of turmeric:

Spicy mango salsa:

I cheated a bit with this…In a food processor I processed 1/4 cup of already made spicy salsa with 1/4 of a cup of mango, then added a tbsp of honey and a tsp of vanilla extract.

Served with raisins (to mix in the dhal) and cooked beets as a side dish.

Yoga update: I’ve learned a few new asanas, but I still have some solidifying to do. I have also recently decided to start making the transition back into Ashtanga. I have been practicing a sequence that I created by myself for some time but I feel that it is inhibiting my meditation and nurturing ego…Ashtanga should hopefully reverse this.

Book update/reviews:

Freedom: Awesome. Totally dug it. Very modern-day, and funny. Can be a bit graphic, but at least the sexual scenes are consensual. Now I want to read The Corrections!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Too negative and graphic. I found it toxic. Certainly engaging but in the same way a horror flick is…

Snowflower and the Secret Fan: So freakin cute. This book is set back waaay in early China during foot-binding days. It’s a story about a friendship, and what I loved about it was that it departed levels of relationships that I myself have never experienced before. It made me value my own friendships in a new light.

Autobiography of a Face: I read Truth and Beauty first, which kind of goes hand in hand with it. I think maybe if I read this one first it would have been different..or better? But because I had background knowledge on what was really going down in this chick’s life I found it kind of fake. Focusing too much on victimization rather than owning up to her own character flaws.

Truth and Beauty: It was alright. I guess both of these books are just kind of outdated. It was another interesting dynamic on friendship.

And that is all! Happy Spring!!

Isn’t she so freakin cute?! Ok, so yesterday I got creative. First, I made this little mosaic:

hehe

Then I decided to make something edible…

What to make what to make?

Aha! Considering I now have access to unlimited coconuts again, a coconut cream pie was just what was in store The filling is incredibly easy to make. Just process the flesh of two middle aged coconuts, add 1/4 cup of almond milk, and a tsp of vanilla extract for about 10 minutes until it turns to cream. Add agave or sugar if you have a sweet tooth

For the crust, I used the Honey Oat Cookie base, which I just pressed along a pan. However, since honey and eggs are not vegan, I have altered the recipe and I now leave out the eggs and honey altogether and instead just add one of those little pre-cupped thingies of natural Mott’s applesauce. Surprisingly it’s just as good if not better than the original recipe!

I baked it until it was golden, but if you want to make this a raw pie, you could always just leave it as is. Then I scooped in the coconut cream, smoothing it with a spoon.

Finally I topped it with a lime banana glaze.

Lime Banana Glaze:
1 banana
The juice of 1.5 limes
1 tbsp agave nectar

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth and liquidy, then spoon glaze onto the top pie and pop the whole thing in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once it solidifies it can be moved to the fridge.

Bon Appetit!

Spinach

Carrots

Tomaters

Green onions and a bunch of other lettuces

Basil..I grew this one myself hehe

Bok Choy!

…and that’s not even all of it!

I feel like Popeye with all of these super greens around, and I even dove to 37 meters w/out fins! So sweet. Meep meep, here I come

The schnazzy Orca suit my honey hooked me up with

On the premises

Ok ok ok. As promised, it’s time to share the re-vamped green protein recipe!

I’ve got a new twist for all you green monster fans. And yes, I dare say it’s way better.

1/5 of a square of tofu
1 cup of almond milk
a handful of flax seeds
a big spoonful of raw cocoa powder
a big spoonful of spirulina powder
a scoop of flavored protein powder
2 cups of spinach

blend to oblivion and feel your taste buds dance, belly smile, and cells light up

What ya do:
Blend it all together in a food processor

then roll it into little balls

and pop em in the fridge to harden and cool

Easy as that! Enjoy