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1day1pose1year March 2020

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I have completed three months of my daily yoga challenge to spend time doing tadasana. That’s 1/4 of my year long commitment. March has been difficult due to the pandemic. Yet, I stayed on course.

I only missed two days this month and they were not consecutive. I can’t say that I always spent a full minute nor can I say my mind was focused or my pose textbook.

That’s ok. The point of my self-challenge is to have consistency. With time, I should improve.

I’m not so good, so how can I not?

Onward to April!

Review: Peloton app

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Staying at home during the COVID-19 social distancing isn’t stopping me from getting in my spin class. You’re probably familiar with the Peloton home exercise equipment which is web enabled so you can do classes. Those classes are also available for streaming via the Peloton Digital App for smart phones and tablets. The app uses AirPlay and Chromecast natively for casting to other devices.

There’s a 30-day trial which will get one through the current 15-day stay the fuck home period. I have an old Roku TV so no Airplay or Chromecast. There is a work around. I downloaded Mirror for Roku to my iPad and installed it there and on my Roku. From there I connected the iPod to the TV. Once that’s done, you open your Peloton App. Voila. Classes on the biggest screen in my house were a go.

There’s a caveat to the work-around. There’s latency (tech speak for lag) between the iPad and the TV. It’s not a problem if you mute the iPod.

I took two spin classes and a mini stretch class and they were good. Almost as good as in-person at the studio. You can see how many others are logged in to the class so you get a very slight sense of community. You can see which artists are on the playlist when you’re choosing a class. That’s cool. I haven’t found a class with a set list I’m excited about yet.

The volume of the music in the class is adequate. You can clearly hear the instructor, so it’s appropriate. It does not replace the louder surround sound of in-person. But, it couldn’t could it.

The 20 and 30 minute interval classes I took were tough enough. I worked harder than I typically would when using my road bike on the bike trainer in my living room.

I’m happy I’ve got this option – I give it 9/10. Alas, I threw my back out on 3/17 and haven’t been able to get on my bike. The positioning is too painful. I’m sad I won’t be making as good a use of the 30 day trial as I’d like. C’est la vie. At least I’m getting in some walks. I’m doing what I can and I’m grateful I can do it. Those (admittedly annoying) platitudes I throw around continue to apply. Something is better than nothing. Every little bit counts. Give yourself credit where credit is due. Etc.

Stay safe and healthy my friends. We will get through this pandemic and we’ll feel so much better if we keep up with our health as best we can.

Fermenting Friday: Kombucha

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SCOBYI got myself a new kombucha SCOBY from my friend Eloise, along with some kefir grains. I’ve been relying on expensive probiotic supplements to bridge the gap and, well, it’s kind of dumb to spend good money when I can have the benefit of food nutrients in addition to the good bacteria. I’m trying to be better about making something cultured as part of my weekly food prep routines.

I’ve made saurkraut, yogurt, and rejuvelac successfully in the past. This is my first time doing kombucha and kefir.

A lot of fermentation techniques are super simple to do. Kombucha is one of the easy ones. I really like the explanations and videos given by Angelica over at You Brew Kombucha. I’ll leave the detailed how-to to her. BTW, SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. Rhymes with Adobe.

The basic method is that you make sweet tea, add a bunch of water, tea, “starter tea,”and the SCOBY. Then you wait for nature to take its course.

The yeast eats the sugar and proliferates, producing carbon dioxide. If you brew it long enough in an airtight container, that means it’s going to get fizzy. It’s also going to get more sour the longer it ferments. My spouse used to call kombucha “vinegar pop.”

Of course there are some additional things to do besides the basic process. Ensure you don’t use metal containers or utensils. You must use real sugar. Don’t worry. You won’t be adding it to your diet. It gets eaten by the SCOBY.

You need to ensure you cool down your tea before adding the other ingredients because if the liquid is too hot it might kill the good living microorganisms.

The process is not tricky despite the little rules.It makes plain ‘booch. If you want to add flavoring or lots of fizz, you’ll need to do a second fermentation. No big deal. It’s as simple as adding the tasty stuff and resealing the container.

SCOBYs require some care and feeding. As you make more batches, you’ll have a lot of SCOBY. Put it in a container and cover it with the ‘booch. Keep it out of the sun, at room temperature, covered. You can put the “SCOBY hotel” in the fridge. That will slow the proliferation. It’s totally fine. When you want to make more ‘booch, it will just mean it takes a little longer for the bacteria and yeast to get going.

You can see from the photo that I’ve gotten underway with my kombucha. I’ve also started the kefir. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

Staying the course when staying home

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We’re in the pandemic. We’re staying home as much as possible. Here in California, San Francisco is on shelter-in-place guidelines and Los Angeles is approaching it with various closures which increase daily. I work from home so I’m used to solitude.

You may find it difficult to stick to wellness routines when you’re stressed. I bought some things I usually keep out of the house because I overeat them. Take this chocolate croissant *grin*.

chocolate croissant
Chocolate croissant mindfully eaten

I may have avoided comfort eating if I’d avoided buying it and starting the chain of decisions and actions in the first place. That’s ok. I believe in doing whatever it takes to get through a difficulty. It’s a form of self-love and it’s good to acknowledge that.

Being consistent doesn’t mean being “perfectly” consistent. It isn’t possible or desirable to adhere to every habit 100% of the time. Do what you can. This is why I suggest the concept of not ditching the good when you’re comfort eating, drinking more, or whatever-it-is that is getting you through. I may be eating more treats. But I’m eating my vegetables. And I’m still practicing my eating style for meals: only when hungry, at the table, mindfully, chewing, stopping when 80% full.  My pastry is an add-on thing not a done instead of healthier food.

Exercise is easy to do at home. I’m doing Peloton online classes on my indoor bike and continuing with yoga tadasana every day. I’m going to add in some strength training if my chronic injuries permit. Otherwise I will stick to my prescribed physical therapy. I’m medically cleared to do strength with the caveat of “as tolerated.”

And recovery relaxation wellness practices are highly recommended. Long baths, self-massage, more recovery things like foam rolling, journaling, crafting, practicing you musical instrument, hobbies. Taking time for the things which make you feel good and bring joy is crucial.

We can do what we can to slow the pandemic. It’s possible to keep doing what we can for ourselves as well. Do the best you can with the wellness habits. Stay positive. We will get through this.

Review: How to Eat

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Mark Bittman, the former New York times celebrated columnist renowned for his books on “How to cook everything,” “How to cook everything vegetarian,” and his much publicized weight loss and promotion of eating vegan till dinner for health, has authored a new book with David L. Katz. Katz is an expert on nutrition and the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.

I give “How to eat: All your food and diet questions answered” an 9.5 /10. It’s short (222 pages of content), well researched with proper citations and a bibliography, and written in an informal engaging style. It’s accessible to newbies without a background in science, incorporating discussion of the research within a question and answer format.

The authors have scientific credibility so the content is trustworthy.  It covers popular diets and eating styles as well as giving no-nonsense advice on how to eat, as promised by the title. It also provides an overview of macros, the basic building blocks of nutrition. Best of all, IMHO, it gives advice on how to evaluate nutrition research. There’s a lot of hype and commercial proselytizing in nutrition.

Dieting is big business. “How to Eat” advocates for a balanced approach to food consumption with “dietary patterns” vs. strict eating rules. I give it kudos because it fulfills its purpose as a basic myth-busting overview of diet. It’s reassuring to know that we all already know what to do by applying common sense to our food intake. Keep it real, keep it whole and unprocessed, focus on plants regardless of whether or not you include meat or animal products in your diet.

My one – very minor – quibble is that I would have liked some pointers — beyond the bibliography — of where to go for more in-depth yet written for the lay person information or a link to a web site which provides up to the minute information on some of the topics covered. This wasn’t the point of the book, so it’s not really fair of me to expect that. There are plenty of good resources available for that type of nutrition news coverage. Why reinvent the wheel?

This is a very good start for anybody wanting a good overview of nutrition, a review of diet(s) you’re likely to choose, and solid advice on how to eat that applies across the board whatever type of diet you decide to implement.