2 Years

This weekend, my husband Ryan and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Our big treat to each other was a couples massage at Sanctuary Day Spa in Salt Lake City. Our appointment was at 11:00 am this morning.

The couples package we purchased began with an exfoliating foot scrub and was followed by the massage itself. It was wonderful, 1 hour of deep relaxing massage strokes, followed by a 30 minute soak in a deep, candlelit bubble bath :)

Our package also offered a $50 upgrade in which we received a $100 gift card to Flemings Steak House. Yes, the word steak kind of freaks me out, but lucky for me, they had salmon :D It was delicious--a whole $100 worth of delicious, high quality food served with a very romantic ambiance! As a treat for our anniversary, we were given a complimentary dark chocolate lava cake with pistachio crusted vanilla ice cream. Ryan was insistent that it was a night worthy of a splurge.

We spent the night strolling Gateway-Ryan was sweet enough to spend over an hour in Anthropologie:) And we then enjoyed a romantic night in the Marriott City Center in downtown Salt Lake.

it was a perfect anniversary celebration- one to remember :)

PIZZERIA 712!

This weeks post is a review of my favorite restaurant, Pizzeria 712. It is located off of state street in Orem, before it intersects with Center. My husband and I are pretty much lame regulars there. We have been going every Friday or Saturday night for about 5 months. We are fortunate to have developed a relationship with the people there, it is such a neat environment. One person in particular is named Danny. He is our server almost every week and has taught us the true art of being a waiter. When he explains the entrees on the menu, my husband and I nearly salivate- it's almost as if you can taste what he is describing!

One thing to know about Pizzeria, is that they only cook with the best and freshest ingredients. They get all their produce from local farms and change their menu to accomodate the changing seasons. Our favorite pizza was from over the summer- it was a corn pizza, with onions, chile's grana padano and goat cheeses. It won Utah's best pizza award!

Bottom line is, everyone in utah valley should take advantage of this local gem! It's actually a pizza place that you can feel nutritionally safe eating at! Its fresh and light and oh so freaking delicious!

26.2 RENEW!!

I feel like I received an answer to a prayer last week, and that was the blessing of a friend. I met a girl named Jenisy in my worksite health promotion class, and we related on the topic of running. She asked me if I intended to do any marathons in the spring and I replied "Im sure I will, I just don't have one planned." She subsequently began telling me about the ogden marathon in May. Apparently it is not only a Boston Marathon "qualifier", but it is also a beautifully landscaped, peaceful course!

Not only did we begin relishing in our love for running, but she asked if I would like to do our long run together that following Saturday. I jumped at the offer and we had a fabulous time!

We completed 10 miles in just under an hour and a half and we plan to up our speed so that we can do a full marathon in the Boston qualifying time of 3 hours and 40 minutes. We both registered for the race that following Tuesday ($95 :P better be worth it!) and we plan on training together through out the winter.

I honestly feel renewed. Since my back injury, I've felt somewhat in a gloom, like it'll be a long time before renewing my marathon running glory days. However, now I feel so lifted and excited about this love of mine that has again taken root. Not only that, I have a new, dear friend to share it with!

Tootles!

Delicious Delight

As a health enthusiast in addition to loving yoga and running, it is in my nature to find recipes that are delicious and still nutritionally acceptable. Recently, I've found a website that has some wonderfully delicious recipes; http://www.wholegraingourmet.com

For me and my husband, we love making the "Healthy Rice Krispie Treats". You can use any kind of whole grain cereal you prefer. I like to use Erewhon Organic puffed rice cereal and Heritage Organic Whole Grain Flakes.

By using these, the sugar and high fructose corn syrup found in many rice krispie cereals is eliminated.

-Also, the recipe calls for brown rice syrup instead of using marshmallows. Yet another elimination of simple sugars.

-Finally, these rice krispie treats use a variety of nut butters, instead of regular butter. This eliminates the added hydrogenated and saturated fats.

-I like to use http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/products.php (see picture below) I have tried almost every variety of almond butter I have encountered and this is by far the best: )

Another unique quality of these treats is the addition of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. My husband and I also like to add a touch of honey and molasses.

Alterations to Recipe:

The recipe online calls for 2/3 cup nut butter and 2/3 cup brown rice syrup. 1/2 cup is sufficient! which is nice given the fact that these 2 particular ingredients are not cheap! Justins Almond Butter is $8.99 a bottle and brown rice syrup is $5.99 :P

After adding the wet ingredients to the dry, spread in a 9x13 baking dish coated with olive oil spray. I like to put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up.

Enjoy!

Nothing Gets Between Me and My Mat: Part II

Last weekend was the photo shoot for YogaFit's ad campaign "Nothing Gets Between Me and My Mat". I had the opportunity to work with a fabulous photographer, Charles Uibel- check out his work at www.greatsaltlakephotos.com. We met at Brighton Ski Resort on one of the few beautiful fall days in Utah. The weather was in the 60's, the sky was perfectly blue and the colors of the leaves at the resort where glimmering gold! It was absolutely perfect! At the base of the mountains is a small body of water, called silver lake. Surrounding the lake is a beautifully paved path. When we began the shoot, it was warm and sunny, as we moved further along the path and into the trees, we found ourselves in a bed of snow!! ( Keep in mind that this is a yoga photo shoot and therefore, I am not wearing shoes!)

We did poses in tree branches, on the top of large rocks, poses with my feet buried deep in the snow, even a pose balancing on a bridge pole!

As we were finishing the shoot and walking back along the path surrounding the lake and back to the car, we ran into an adolescent MOOSE! My first instinct was to make a B-line in the opposite direction due to the rumor that moose are very violent; however, this little girl was very even tempered. It was obvious she was observing and cognizant of her surroundings, but she remained perfectly calm. It was quite a way to end a beautifully, enjoyable afternoon!

To conclude, we took my mom to Ryan and my favorite restaurant, Pizzeria 712!

Pictures of the shoot should be available very soon, a posting will come once I have them!

Namaste : )

How Much Training is TOO Much Training??

Well, it happened. I let myself get injured :/ The sport of running, is in my opinion, one of the most intrusive activities on the body.

My injury actually began a year and a half ago when I was in the final stages of training for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. It was the week before my 20 mile training run (the last one before the race) and I got a severe case of what many people call "runners knee".

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/runners-knee

*Runners Knee is severe pain behind or around the kneecap and can be due to many reasons. The repetition of bending the knee with the weight of the body hitting the ground can cause this pain to occur. It could also be due to some form of misalignment in the body- this will cause an uneven distribution of weight and the knee may have to bear excess strain.

In order to treat runners knee, it is important to let it rest (the hardest part- any runner will understand that they don't want anyone telling them they have to miss their run; even for a day, let alone a whole week or more! ) It is also important to ice for 20-30 min a couple times a day and lastly to compress the knee if possible.*

So, back to my story about the marathon. I did my last training run of 20 miles while wearing a compression brace to help ease the pain. I completed the marathon as well, the only true set back was that I didn't qualify for Boston as I had hoped because my paced slowed. Afterward, I didn't suffer to many consequences because my running was cut back from competitive training to running for pleasure.

However, the past few weeks I have been increasing my intensity and mileage for the first time since I broke my back earlier this year and I have to say, the symptoms are worse than they were before. I think I'm going to have to break down and see a doctor.

I don't want to have someone ever tell me that I wont be able to run anymore. I think my heart might shatter.

Thank heaven for the blessing of yoga while I go through this temporary running remission.

Salute the Sun and RUN! :D

Back from my level 3 certification with YogaFit and I am so excited to teach my class this Friday! Level 3 was by far my favorite training; I feel like I had a lot of "aha" moments where I was able to make connections between concepts that were a little murky before. The training was 20 hours of instruction, reading, writing, discussion, alignment practice and of course yoga itself. My favorite part was discussing the chakras of the body and how they are each associated with a moral principle. This is so neat- this is where the mind joins the body in the practice of yoga. Let me give a little insight into my rant- "chakras" otherwise known as energy centers in the spine are activated by the practice of yoga. Movements that help keep the spine active and keep nerve bundles from becoming blocked. For example, the first chakra is at the base of the spine and is the "root center" of our bodies. ( A lot of times, you will hear yoga teachers refer to feeling grounded in the moment-- this is a subtle reference to the first chakra). These chakras also have moral principles that are associated with them so that when an individual activates the chakra through physical movement, they can also bring an awareness to a moral principle that will help them become a better person. In the case of chakra 1, the principle is "acceptance". --> hence the connection between mind and body!

There is no way to reiterate 20 hours worth of illuminating knowledge, but it sufficeth me to say that I feel refreshed and optimistic about incorporating new ideas into my friday morning class :)

There is a beauty in yoga that I hope everyone who wishes to adopt a habitual practice will come to find. Yoga teaches us how to become our best selves. It helps us to find peace in our daily lives and it teaches us to accept ourselves just the way we are in any given moment in time. There is no competition, there is no judgement or expectation. There is just "being"; being in the moment, being in our bodies, being who we are, and realizing who we ultimately can be; one breath, one pose, one moment at a time.

namaste :)

Mind Body Fitness

This weekend, I will be attending YogaFit's Mind Body Fitness Conference in Downtown Salt Lake City. While there, I will complete my 3rd of 5 levels of certification. Additionally, a professional photographer for YogaFit and I will do a photo shoot for their ad campaign, "Nothing Gets Between me and my Mat" ( See first post :D) I’ve been researching more about the different levels of YogaFit for those who are interested in certifying and it really is a wonderful program. As a trainee, you will progress through a series of levels (1-5) however, in order to receive a 200 hr. RYT (registered yoga trainer) you will need to complete levels 1-5, do a level 1 re-train, complete an anatomy and alignment course, yoga for seniors and 1 more course of your choice (options vary from yoga for kids, pre-natal yoga and so on). Whew! This is no joke and that’s just for a 200 hr, there is also a 500 hr RYT certification you can receive! For more details on YogaFit’s 500 hr. RYT, see http://www.yogafit.com/500ryt.shtml

Obviously, I wanted to get a new outfit for the conference this weekend and the photo shoot, here are some of my favorite yoga picks:

Lululemon: turbo tank ($52.00) and Pritti tank ($64.00)

Lululemon: groove crop $86.00

Lululemon: "The Mat"-- Best mat ever, never slip again! read about it at lululemon.com :)

Until next week when I am a little more sage in my yoga wisdom...

Namaste :)

Quite the Challenge

This week concluded the 100 day heart challenge that I have been working on for my internship. The Heart Challenge involved working with 3 individuals who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease; working to improve their cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, waist circumference and of course, their weight. At first, I was so excited to be one of the trainers for this challenge. I thought I would really change their lives for the better and be inspirational in helping them to achieve their goals. Well, it sufficeth me to say that this wasn't just a challenge for the participants... it was a challenge for everyone. The first time I heard the words "How does 6am work for you?", I realized that i was doomed.

For the past 4 months, I have been getting up at 5:30 am, going to the hospital and helping women to exercise! Only to return at 4pm to do the same. Day in and day out, the challenge had its set-backs; weight gains followed by weight losses, accompanied by nutrition pit-falls and frustrations. One woman even had the audacity to tell me that having to do this challenge was really impinging on her schedule! All the while I'm thinking to myself..."impinging on your schedule?? The sun hasn't even woken up lady and YOU'RE the one who chose to be here right now!" Oh well, it has ended and the best news of all is that I did help change someone's life for the better, Cathi lost 30 lbs and was taken off her diabetes medication. She was an amazing inspiration to me of dedication and hard work, and I am so glad that I was blessed to be a part of this experience with her. All in all it's been a interesting and heart-warming journey... I'll leave out the details about how BYU screwed over the whole part of it counting as an internship-that's a story for another day..

Stepping Stone Dreams

My yogini's and I at our Level 1 Certification with YogaFit

First thing to know about me is that I don't just love yoga; i love to share yoga with others. I feel like a lot of people take yoga for granted- it's seen by many as just "stretching" or "meditating". However, if everyone could immerse themselves in a true and devoted practice, they would come to find that it is just the thing they've been missing in their lives. I don't mean to put down anyone who hasn't had that "aha" moment with yoga, in fact, I used to have the same closed-minded idea of the whole thing too. It was when i threw myself into it all that I truly felt a reciprocation of benefits. This is what i want to share with others-the understanding that in some form, everyone can embrace their own, personal practice. Subsequently, I have been dreaming of one day owning my own yoga studio, so that i could help others to embrace the wonderful joy and peace that comes from yoga.

This week, i came across a stepping stone to that dream. I got an offer to teach my very own class at the Spanish Fork, Utah Golds Gym! I was ecstatic at the prospect, thrilled to have the experience, (I even relish in the idea of having my name printed on the group exercise schedule, ha!) The most important thing is that I feel one step closer to achieving my overarching dream of one day designing, owning and operating my own slice of yoga heaven: )

"Nothing Gets Between Me and My Mat"

My name is Danielle Teel, I am a 22-year-old college student living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Three years ago, I did my first certification with Yogafit at an MBF conference in Reston, Virginia. Within the next year, I did my level 2 certification and I have plans to complete my level 3 at the MBF conference in Salt Lake City this October. My journey with yoga began at a time in my life when I was insecure, troubled and unbalanced. I was suffering from a debilitating eating disorder and was essentially tearing myself to shreds; not only was my body shrinking, so was my mind. Today, I can say that yoga played a strong roll in restoring what I had lost and in bringing balance and joy back into my life. I went to my first yoga class with my big sister at a health club and immediately felt at home with my mat. That first class began a routine habit of practice, which in turn brought me to researching and networking where to certify. I believe Yogafit came in answer to a prayer I needed in order to find my path in this life. I soon switched my education focus from architecture to exercise & wellness with the dream of one day opening a yoga studio.

I love the motto “Nothing gets between me and my mat”. It represents the beauty of yoga, its essence, it’s core. To me, yoga is the blessing of a constant companion to the disheartened and broken. It’s the source of fulfillment to the joyful and energetic. Despite the experiences that come to us in this life, we always have our yoga mat to pull out anytime, anywhere. Whether we simply sit and breathe deeply or rock out our best standing splits, we are bringing more balance, more peace and more gratitude for ourselves and for our lives.

The beginning of this year, I was in a snowboarding accident and crushed a vertebrae in my spine. For 7 weeks, I wore a back brace from my hips to my collarbone and had to turn an especially active life into somewhat of an immobile one. While I couldn't run, weight train or do many of the things I love doing, none of this came between me and my mat. How grateful I am that in a time when I otherwise would have felt sorely disheartened, I could still have my practice. Sure, it wasn't the same routine, but that’s the beauty of yoga. It is keeping me strong, keeping me relaxed and at peace. I know that I will heal and one day return to life as it was, but as for now, I know I have my mat.

Namaste,

Danielle Teel