Yoga Nidra...a nap yoga style!

The subject of my yoga training on Sunday was Yoga Nidra, a style of meditation that I had never tried or knew much about...oh man was I missing out!  For some reason this style is not very widespread in the West but we need to start requesting it at our studios because it is heavennn!

Basically everyone gets under blankets on top of their mats as if they were taking a super long cozy savasana.  The teacher then leads you through a deep relaxation and guided meditation.  As your body completely surrenders you start to hover between sleep and awareness in this amazing meditative state called the hypnogogic state. It is said that one hour of yoga nidra is equivalent to FOUR hours of sleep!  Their are even masters of this that live completely on yoga nidra...never sleeping!

Yoga nidra has numerous psychological, physical and spiritual benefits.  Most of all it de-stresses you while rejuvenating and energizing your body and mind at the same time!  Like I mentioned many yoga studios don't have these classes yet so ask for them.  And until one is offered there are a ton of great cds and books out there that you can buy to do a yoga nidra practice at home.  A good one is Richard Miller's CD.  Also one of my teachers has a CD now.  His name is Jeremy Wolf and he has the most sooooothing voice EVER so I would totally recommend that one!

Happy napping...I mean nidra-ing!

Farm to Table restaurants...everyone's doin' it!

Like I have mentioned before, Denver and Boulder are really progressive about the farm to table movement, especially in their restaurants.

The bar at Salt Bistro

Recently, I went to a delicious, fairly new restaurant called Salt in Boulder that prides itself in its use of local farm ingredients from the Boulder area.  The restaurant is situated in the old "Tom's Tavern" location.  And was it oh so good!

To start we had a yummy warm flat bread with peaches, melted gorgonzola cheese, and prosciutto with a light dressed salad on top.  The sweetness of the peaches with the saltiness of the prosciutto and bite of the cheese was such a nice combination.

For an entree we had sweet corn and shiitake risotto with steak on top, which was their lunch special.  It was super creamy with large bits of shiitake and sweet corn just as promised, and the steak was cooked and seasoned to perfection.  Overall a great meal.  The ambiance of the place is really cool too; exposed brick, open kitchen, and most of the interior is made from recycled and re-used materials keeping with their focus on sustainability.  I highly recommend Salt for a great meal or just a cool place for a drink.

Some other restaurants in the Denver/ Boulder area that focus on farm to table cuisine...

Denver:

True Farm to Table...eating a delicious meal using
  farm ingredients right in the farm fields!

Shazz Cafe and Bar
Duo
Fruition
Root Down
Z Cuisine
Fuel Cafe
ChoLon

Boulder:
Black Cat
Cafe Aion
Salt
The Kitchen
Q's
Frasca

Cute way to reuse glass bottles

Use old glass milk bottles, jam jars, and spaghetti sauce jars to store rice and grains!  A practical and attractive way to eliminate waste while making your kitchen "country chic"!