Raw Beet Orange Strawberry Smoothie

It never gets old sharing my experience with raw green smoothies! I know that out of all the things I’ve consumed over the last few years, the greens in the smoothies have helped me regain a youthfulness that I thought I’d lost. The best part about this is that I’ve actually experienced it. I’m pretty sure that it would also work for you!

It never seems to get old posting another raw green smoothie recipe on the blog. Even though they can start looking the same, each one is a different set if experiences, flavors and textures. This one has the excitement of strawberries with an after taste of orange. The beet greens give it a little bit of a wild ride.

If you’ve got a collection of beets you haven’t harvested from the garden, you might be able to give this one a go and see how easy it is for yourself. If not, Swiss Chard or Spinach might be really good substitutes. Just make sure you use a large amount of greens! Remember, the health benefits come from the greens.

Recipe:

  • 2 Oranges seeds removed
  • 10-12 Frozen (or even better – fresh) strawberries
  • 1 cup Orange juice
  • 2 Medjool dates (seeds removed)
  • 1 Large bunch beet greens

Place all the fruit in your high powered blender and grind it up for a few seconds. If you put the orange slices in first things will break down faster (even though it only takes a couple seconds). Next, add the greens.

The liquid fruit will flow up and around to fill all the empty space in the greens making it pretty easy to place a blender full of greens into a blender full of fruit purée. Blend for 60 seconds or more. If you’re using frozen fruit, you might let it go a little longer in order to warm it above freezing. It’s a lot easier to consume if it’s not ice cold.

The oranges take on the pink color given up by the strawberries only to be overwhelmed by the red of the bet green stems. But in any case, it’s easy to drink and filling!

Enjoy!

What makes a good yoga instructor?

A long time ago I drafted a list of characteristics that I believe every good yoga instructor should have. This list was not from the point of view of a teacher, but from the point of view of the student. That is, if the instructor performs these actions, the class, and the resulting energy, always feels more uplifting than awkward.

Well, it’s time for me to revisit that original article. It’s been a long time since that article was posted and I’ve now come to understand a little bit more regarding this art. That is, I still don’t have any ‘formal’ training, but what I experience is, well, what I experience and get to share!

In the original list of items, I left out describing one thing that I now know to be critical with regards to what separates a yoga instructor from one that people stand in line to go see. That trait is:

Share within your personal space as if you’re hugging your students

Understanding your personal space is one thing, but opening yourself up and using that energy in your instruction makes for a great yoga instructor. The instructors that are not afraid to let students into their personal space when they are open and venerable allow for the yoga experience to go beyond the physical and into the emotional aspects of the practice.

This is different than simply approaching a student and making corrections in their posture. Any instructor can suggest a longer stance, or a lengthening, or some other alignment while still protecting their own personal space. But when this is done when the instructor’s personal space engulfs the student, the experience is felt in a very deep way.

What I’m talking about is probably more closely aligned with giving someone a hug. When you hug someone, the intent is to consciously open your personal space. When you do, who you are in the inside flows though and is felt in the emotional level of the receiver.

During yoga, when the physical body is pushed to the limit, the barriers, that people build in order to isolate themselves from the emotional effects of others, are softened. This is the exact time when emotional energies have the greatest impact. This is where a really good instructor can enhance a student’s yoga experience by consciously using the personal space to help release emotional blockages or enhance the flow of emotional energy.

To really make this effective, the instructor must be open at the time of merging. In other words, it is of no use to enter someone’s personal space if you’re going to keep the standard blocks up and active. Picture Mr. Spock approaching a student to make a correction. Sure, you can technically do this, but the experience is far from satisfying.

Thus, one trait of a really good yoga instructor is someone that makes themselves just a venerable as the students – yet knows that when they enter the student’s personal space they will be enhancing the student’s yoga experience in non-physical ways.

So, now, if you look back on my previous article, you’ll see that I’ve added this trait to the list. It’s so important, that I’ve placed it on the top of the list.

Hopefully the words that I’ve written make sense to you. They have helped me realize that it’s not so much the technical aspect of the workout that needs to be perfected, but rather The Being finds its way to the surface when the art of yoga shines through.