Chocolate Milkshake Recipe

By: Amy Jo Hearron

Amy Jo has been creating wonderfully tasty recipes and has been sharing them on her food blog titled Pure and Simple. Many of the recipes are gluten free and use such ingredients as Kale, Coconut Oil, Raw Honey, Beets, Mint and so much more. Everything is colorful, full of flavor and easy to create at home.

We will be re-blogging some of her most delicious recipes for your enjoyment!

The day I made my first chocolate indulgence in a purely raw state from scratch was the day I began whistling a new tune. From this revelation emerged pies, cookies, smoothies, candy, and milkshakes I could consume daily without feeling depleted. Recipes that bring immeasurable joy and health to my life will follow this post, but for now I share with you a milkshake that brightens many mornings and always lifts my spirits. It is made with fresh, raw ingredients, including my homemade brazil nut milk, dates, coconut butter, cacao powder, and the all-too-favorable hemp seed, which has benefits oozing out of its exuberant shell.

The hemp seed is easy to digest. It helps to increase and sustain energy throughout the day, balance blood sugar, and reduce inflammation, thanks to the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. It contains loads of essential amino acids and is known for strengthening the immune system. I add at least a spoonful or two to my smoothies on a daily basis and have noticed a positive difference since adding them to my diet a few years ago, seven to be exact. I rely on the Vita-Mix to blend my smoothies/milkshakes/homemade milk to perfection. 

Find more recipes on Amy Jo's new blog, a journal of imaginative kitchen creations and purely sweetened indulgences. These dishes are gluten-free and full of flavor, containing natural ingredients and no refined sugar.

Congratulations :: Our new group of 500-Hour Professional Yoga Teacher Training Grads!

We are so thrilled to announce the graduation of our latest group of advanced teacher training grads! We had 20 devoted yogis take this journey together starting back in September 2012. They all dedicated a huge part of their life to completing this training and advancing their study of yoga. We were honored to be a part of their yogic path and we look forward to watching them grow.

Prana Yoga Center's 500hr Teacher Training Graduates 2013

In case you are curious about what goes on in our 500hr Teacher Training, here is what it is in a nutshell:

A stellar five-month program for grads of a 200hr teacher training we’re offering in partnership with Yogaworks, exclusively at Prana. Through a combination of workshops and an apprenticeship with a local senior teacher, students refine their teaching skills, identify areas of expertise, and set the foundation for fully incorporating yoga into their life path. The mentors in this recent training were some of San Diego’s finest and most experienced teachers:  Gerhard Gessner, Stacy McCarthy, Sara Deakin and Rachel Krentzman. A huge thank you to them for their loving guidance, sincere commitment and humble dedication!

Our Yoga Classroom

The weekend workshop series progresses from the basics of developing confidence and delivery, observations skills, and injury assessment strategies to understanding how to sequence classes for different ages, seasons and needs. Topics include asana-specific intensives (Backbends, Inversions, Vinyasa Flow, Working with Beginners, etc.) Injury Management, Restorative Yoga & Yoga for Chronic Illness, Yoga Sutras, Subtle Body & Meditation to name a few,  taught by master teachers from the Yogaworks Teacher Training Faculty. Equipped with proper training, a yoga teacher can create the context to promote healing, improve the quality of people’s lives, and celebrate vitality.

Weekend Workshop: Backbends

Through the apprenticeship program, students benefit from working more closely with a mentor who will help them cultivate their teaching skills. Additionally, trainees build upon what they learned in their initial training, solidifying and integrating the information through a consistent, one-on-one relationship and on-going dialogue with their mentor. As assistants in their mentors’ classes, trainees hone their ability to see bodies and give hands on adjustments. They also have the opportunity to observe and assist their mentors and learn so many valuable tools for instructing, sequencing, adjusting and inspiring their students.  Each group meets with their mentor regularly in a constructive and supportive forum where questions and issues related to teaching yoga are discussed. The highlight of the program is the final group teaching and presentation of a thesis project students work on for several months.  Stay tuned for some examples of what students have worked on in upcoming posts!

A few words from our Mentors:

Rachel Krentzman

"Being a mentor was a wonderful experience for me.  It was more than just teaching.  It was an opportunity to share, grow and witness four amazing women grow into the teachers and healers they are.  The dedication required for this program is intense and it draws individuals who are truly willing to 'live their Yoga'.  I feel blessed to be part of this community and am proud of the quality of teachers that emerge from this program."
Rachel Krentzman. E-RYT 500, Embody Yoga Therapy

Stacy McCarthy

“Empowering yoga teachers to grow their practice through mentorship is a profound experience for both parties.  I believe in the impact of one person on another person’s life. The opportunity to share over 20 years of experience  creating a thriving and sustainable career teaching yoga is rewarding. As a mentor, I dream of a world for our next generation of yoga teachers in which our yogic light becomes so bright that it will wash away the unnecessary pain and suffering in the world. We can do this. We can build a yoga revolution, teacher by teacher, student by student.” 

Stacy McCarthy, E-RYT500, Yoga Namastacy

Stacy with her mentees

One of the beautiful things about yoga is that the learning is continuous. There is always something new to take from each teacher and something you can add to the experience. If you have been considering taking a 500hr Teacher Training, we will be hosting our next one September 2013- February 2014. We would love to have you with us for this journey. For more information about our upcoming 500hr Teacher Training please click here.

~Namaste

Quiet the Mind, Ease the Pain: A Journey to fight Cancer

Jill, Shauna, and John outside of Prana.

By: Shauna MacKay

Cancer can sneak up on you anytime.

Just ask Prana student, John Beliveau.

It was January 25, 2011. John remembers the date exactly as it was a mere two days after his mother’s funeral when he joined his friends for their regular boot camp workout.

After a vigorous session that had him keeping pace with guys twenty years younger, John planned to run the short distance home as usual.

“But I couldn’t,” he said. “I tried to man-up but the fatigue was overwhelming. I just couldn’t do it and I knew something was wrong.”

Within a week, he had his diagnosis, Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

“I was leaving my dermatologist’s office after the removal of a basal cell sarcoma from the back of my leg when I got the call from the oncologist.” John recounted.

By February 3rd, John began a stint of ten weeks in the hospital that included two rounds of chemotherapy; a re-admittance to fight a serious infection and finally a two-week stay for a bone marrow transfer.

“And than I was sent home to recover with strict instructions to stay out of the sun, the ocean, away from pets and groups of people or anywhere germs may be. Essentially, I was housebound.”

Unable to participate fully in life, John missed events and gatherings including a family wedding.  Time passed slowly.

“It felt like I had been through something big and it left me with anxiety and stress,” John recounted. “I was giving myself shots and taking medication throughout the night, it seemed there was a lot to worry about.”

As a Prana yoga teacher focused on cancer, I was invited to visit John and his wife Lori less than a month after he was released from the hospital. We began with simple guided meditations to quiet the mind and ease the nervous system.

“I was doing something different. I wasn’t a meditation person but at the end I would feel real relaxed and content.” John said.

We worked together once a week for about a year. Eventually morphing into a physical practice as John’s strength and health improved.

“The yoga and meditation helped me accept things a lot better. I felt more grounded and centered. Before yoga, I didn’t even know what that meant. And now I use the breathing techniques I’ve learned when I feel hyper or anxious.” John continued.

The last two years have been a journey for John especially when last spring, his daughter Jill was diagnosed with an early stage, but an aggressive form of breast cancer. But with all that John has been through, he’s able to be there for his daughter in a unique and powerful way.  Jill is doing well now and happily tending to the needs of her two little boys.

So the next time you’re at Prana check out the 8:30am hatha class and you may see John and Lori practicing yoga with our other morning yogis, breathing through the postures getting “grounded” and ready for anything that might try to “sneak” up on them.

Shauna MacKay is a Prana hatha and happy back yoga teacher. She is leading a Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation workshop for Cancer Patients, Survivors, Friends and Family March 3. To register go to www.Prana-Yoga.com.

3 Things Tweens Teach us About Living and Enjoying Life

By: Mandy Burstein

Mandy Burstein teaches our Yoga for Teens classes and has been able to watch her young yoginis grow over the past two years. Here is an excerpt from an article she wrote about spending an uninterrupted week with her then 13 year old sister, Sabrina, entitled "3 Things Tweens Teach Us About Living and Enjoying Life."

1. Indulge in life

To my sweet surprise, wherever I went with Sabrina it turned into an exciting adventure. For example, I took her out on my daily errands around town, stopping at different farmers markets to get our groceries for the week.

Every time I visit the markets I noticed this delicious looking cupcake truck, but I’ve always talked myself out of getting one. It was different with a tween in tow. The very first thing she noticed was the truck, and we absolutely had to have one….or seven.

As we get older, we tend to feel guilty for indulging in little treats for ourselves. Whether it’s a sugary cupcake or a much needed staycation, for some reason, we talk ourselves out of these sweet indulgences.

On what would have otherwise been a routine trip around town, Sabrina taught me this powerful lesson: Stop worrying so much. Life is meant to be lived. Soak up all its sweetness.

2. Be more affectionate

Mandy with her sister Sabrina

I have always been a very touchy-feely kind of person, generously giving out hugs and love wherever possible. But, as I grew older, I realized not everyone is receptive to the affection, and some people just plain don’t like to be touched. So, I backed off and became more conscious of my interactions with people.

I’ve noticed that as a society, as we get farther away from our childhood, we create these unnecessary boundaries between ourselves and other human beings, afraid that if we put our love out there it won’t get returned.

Children have this incredible ability to give away love like it is going out of style—hugs, kisses, snuggles, twirling your hair. Every night as we lay on the couch after dinner, Sabrina would hold my hand, and then play with my hair. Then she’d finally collapse her head in my lap and fall asleep on top of me.

My week with my sister taught me a profound lesson about how necessary it is to reconnect with people on a physical level. Something as simple as a warm hug can soothe the soul.

3. Laugh out loud

Also known in the tween world as “LOL.” Sometimes as adults, we forget how important it is to find the humor in every situation and experience a nice big belly laugh at least once a day. Even the most mundane trip with Sabrina turned into a hilarious adventure.

One lazy weekday, on our way to the beach, a Hare Krishna approached us. Being a tall bald monk swaddled in orange cloth, he must have been a rather strange sighting for a 13 year old. Instead of making fun of him or trying to avoid this eccentricity, Sabrina became actively engaged and genuinely interested in what he had to say for more than 10 minutes.

Towards the end of the conversation, he offered us the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Indian text, and a instead of awkwardly declining, her first instinct was to ask, “How much?”

His response was perfect, “There is no charge. We are monks, not punks!” This caused Sabrina to erupt in an adorable and contagious laughter that caused me to laugh, which caused the people all around us to join in on this hilarious moment.

The precious lesson out of this story is that we all know full-grown adults who would not have treated the monk with as much respect as this tween had. In turn, by being open and genuinely interested in other human beings, and by sending out positive vibrations, we got to experience this wonderful moment of uproarious laughter that spread to all those around us.

We should never forget, happiness is contagious—spread it whenever and wherever you can.

Children, by nature, are open-hearted beings who are more familiar with loving than fearing life. Fear is a learned habit that we develop over time. If we can reconnect with that child inside of all of us that loves, instead of fears, we can enjoy life’s offerings to the fullest.

To read the full article, click here. If you know a tween or teen in La Jolla who would benefit from practicing yoga, send them our way! More info on our Yoga for Teens classes can be found here.

My Morning Juice Recipes

By: Shannon Purves

Very Green Juice

• 1 cup of almond milk
• 2 celery stalks
• 5 chopped kale leaves (no stems)
• 1 peeled carrot
• 1 large cucumber
• 1 inch knob of ginger
• 1/2 a bunch of parsley
• 1/2 lemon with no skin

Carrot Ginger Juice

• 1 cup of water
• 3 large carrots
• 1 romaine heart
• 2 clementines with no skin
• 1/2 lemon with no skin
• 1 inch knob of ginger

Blueberry and Kale Juice

• 1 cup of apple juice
• 5 chopped kale leaves (no stems)
• 1 cup of blueberries
• 1 grapefruit
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 green apple

200-hr Teacher Training Book Review

My Favorite Books from my 200-hr Teacher Training
By: Shannon Purves

5) Yoga Teachers' Toolbox by Joseph Le Page and Lilian Le Page


The Yoga Teachers' Toolbox contains 90 beautifully illustrated, laminated cards in a vinyl binder. These cards are designed to support your Yoga teaching and practice by showing how important elements of yoga physiology, psychology, and philosophy relate to the practice of the postures for healing and transformation. Among the tools you'll find inside: - Key poses organized into color-coded groups with complete instructions - Clear illustrations of the poses, with modifications and variations - A warm-up section laying the foundation for the postures - Clear descriptions and illustrations of Yoga physiology for each pose, including Koshas, Chakras, Prana Vayus, and Ayurveda - The main benefits and contraindications for each pose - Affirmations to integrate the essential qualities of the poses.

4) Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life by Judith Lasater


If you think that you have to escape to a cave in the Himalayas to find the enlightenment that yoga promises, think again. In Living Your Yoga, Judith Lasater stretches the meaning of yoga beyond its familiar poses and breathing techniques to include the events of daily life—all of them—as practice. Using the time-honored wisdom of the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita to steer the course, the author serves up off-the-mat practices to guide you in deepening your relationships with yourself, your family and friends, and the world around you. Inspiring and practical, she blends her heartfelt knowledge of an ancient tradition with her life experiences as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, and yoga practitioner and teacher. The result is a new yoga that beckons you to find the spiritual in everyday life.

3) Light on Yoga By B.K.S. Iyengar


If you are to only by one book on yoga this is the one! It is the definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga--the ancient healing discipline for body and mind--by one of its greatest teachers. Light on Yoga provides complete descriptions and illustrations of all the positions and breathing exercises.

B.K.S. Iyengar was born in India in 1918 and has been teaching yoga since of the age of 17. He has been one of the world's leading teachers of yoga for over 70 years and is internationally recognized as a leading authority of hatha yoga. His own style of teaching, "Iyengar Yoga", is followed by certified teachers across the world. Iyengar was the first person to teach yoga to large groups of students; he lays great emphasis on precision and alignment, a style that is faithfully followed by his students. He is also the only person to teach the highest aspects of yoga - Atma Darshan - through asanas. Through his work, Iyengar has established the relevance of yoga to the treatment and cure of many illnesses, and has received a Doctorate from the United Nations Charter for Peace.

2) Yoga Beyond Belief by Ganga White

Yoga Beyond Belief offers a unique vision of contemporary yoga. It integrates scientific and practical approaches providing a much-needed integrative perspective that complements existing yoga books for all levels and styles of yoga students. Serving up a collection of valuable insights gleaned from a lifetime of exploration, practice, study, and teaching by one of America’s pioneering and leading teachers of yoga, the book assists readers in making sense of the many discordant claims and teaching techniques that currently exist in the yoga world, freeing readers to pursue their own individual paths of yoga and personal practice. This is an essential text and reference for all yoga practitioners. White’s integrative views will inspire beginners and accomplished yogis to trust their inner wisdom and creatively reassess their practice. He is a great storyteller and gives us his personal and creative perspective, breathing fresh air into an ancient discipline. Yoga Beyond Belief offers an original, integrative approach to body, mind, and spirit that is practical, inspiring, and full of valuable insights to enliven and inform anyone’s yoga practice.

1) The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice by T.K.V. Deskichar

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, was one of the greatest yogis of the modern era. Elements of Krishnamacharya's teaching have become well known around the world through the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, who all studied with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar lived and studied with his father all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya's yoga. Desikachar has based his method on Krishnamacharya's fundamental concept of viniyoga, which maintains that practices must be continually adapted to the individual's changing needs to achieve the maximum therapeutic value. 

In The Heart of Yoga Desikachar offers a distillation of his father's system as well as his own practical approach, which he describes as "a program for the spine at every level--physical, mental, and spiritual." This is the first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to the age-old principles of yoga. Desikachar discusses all the elements of yoga--poses and counterposes, conscious breathing, meditation, and philosophy--and shows how the yoga student may develop a practice tailored to his or her current state of health, age, occupation, and lifestyle. 


Information cited from Amazon.com