An Update.

Hi all! Just your newly turned, vegan eating, yoga machine here, excited to tell you about where I am in my practice and get you caught up on how my recent movie night went.

Not so well folks. Not so well.

But first, eating. Well it is getting better, I am finding more and more things that I both like and can eat. I struggled at first with getting enough protein in my diet, but feel I have that a little more down pat these days. My headaches have finally subsided and my skin is clearing up. I think my body has somewhat adjusted to the changes that took place.

Now on to the fun part. Kidding.

( I am going to say here that I am a just a person. A person that has personal views, one that grew up in, went to school for, and now works in the agriculture industry. I don't expect anyone to agree with my personal views, but I do expect you to respect that I have them.)

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the video "Earthlings". It is a film narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and you can read more about the film here. This film claims to be the "vegan maker" so going into it, I was of course hesitant and in all honesty a bit scared. I had heard before of films like this, backed by vegans that were spreading the word about animal cruelty among other things. This film turned out to be exactly what I thought it to be. 

It was graphic, from dying animals, to slaughter houses, abuse, puppy mills, etc. it was all there. They showed the killing of whales, the processes of slaughter of cows, chickens, and pigs, among other animals. They showed rodeo animals that got hurt, they showed horse races where horses were knocked down and trampled over, they showed elephants being beaten by their circus owners. There was blood and guts, sad faces, dirty fish, puppies in gas chambers, all of it. It was everything I expected it to be. 

I want to stop here and say, I do not think that animals should be mistreated. I do not think that animals should have to undergo painful deaths. However, I also do not look at animals as our equals. I look at them as creatures that God put on this Earth for us to care for, to look after, to use, to eat. That is where the biggest difference in myself and the creators of this movie lies. 

Now I want to tell you what they didn't show, and some things they showed that I have rarely heard of happening. I have never heard of dairy farmers chaining their cows all day. From my experience, these cows are brought in twice a day, they are fed, milked, and taken care of if ill during that time. They are grazed for the largest part of the day. I have never heard of chickens being de-beaked. From the people I have talked to, whose families are in the chicken business, that just doesn't make sense. How would they pick up their food? (Also if you look closer throughout the movie, you can tell that these chickens do have their beaks.) They fail to mention all the research done by people like Temple Grandin and others who devoted their lives the figuring out the most humane ways to handle and slaughter animals. They didn't show the love that goes into taking care of a horse. The time and care given to the rodeo animals, the people behind these actions. I understand that cruelty to any living thing is wrong, but you can't just group together the bad findings of certain people and make it seem like the norm.  Yes, things like what were shown have happened and I am sure that they still do, however, it is not always the case. And more often than not most of the people handling these animals do so with the utmost care. Those animals are the way they make their living, the way they feed their families and keep clothes on their backs. There is so much more that I could say on this topic, but I am going to stop here.

Growing up, going to school for, and now working in the animal industry I have learned and witnessed many things. I have decided to believe what I see with my own eyes. To trust my own instinct and to stay as true to myself as possible during this phase of my life.

I am feeling much more confident about this experience after getting through my first two videos. I feel confident in who I am as a person, what I believe in, and the experience that lies before me. I can do it. I can make it through.

Do something today that scares you. Do one thing that makes you think.

Happy for No Reason

Good morning world! 
After a rough start to the week, filled with a headache and lots of super cold weather, the past few stays have been great ones. Class last night was wonderful, and although I am still working on being "still" in the moment (both mind and body) I am getting more into the routine of the drive and the classes.

Did I mention earlier on that I was required to watch movies and read books to complete this course. The books and movies listed below are supposed to stir some sort of feelings up for each one of us. This particular studio focuses on non-violence and living a peaceful life, where some may be more connected to the act of doing yoga, others on the more spiritual side. I am still unaware of how most of these books and/or movies will affect me, but I am going to do my best to understand that the media can portray most anything in the way that they want to, and I must stick to my guns when it comes to knowing what these types of things mean to me.
Books: The Razor's Edge, Somerset Maugham
True Meditation, Adyashanti
Bhagavad Gita
The China Study, T. Colin Campbell
Happy Yoga, Steve Ross
Yoga Body, Mark Singleton
Healthy at 100, John Robbins
Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer
Slaughterhouse. Gail Eisnitz
Happy for No Reason. Marci Shimoff
Eat to Live. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
The Longest Struggle, Norm Phelps
Movies: A Crude Awakening* Short Road to Nirvana*
No Impact Man*
Food, Inc**
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 
Earthlings***
Forks Over Knives**
Home***
Crazy, Sexy Cancer
Ashtanga, NY
The Matrix**
The People Speak
I am currently reading "Happy for No Reason" and listening to "The Razor's Edge" on CD while in my car. "Happy for No Reason" has been informative so far, as it reads as more of a self-help book. It will get into stories later on, and I feel that will be more what I will enjoy. "The Razor's Edge" is quite compelling, making me think deeply about the reason's that we all do the things we do. I also have found similarities between characters in the book, with those in my real life, so it is helping to understand their thoughts and actions as well. 
I am still in a place of not knowing where this process will take me. Will I one day teach yoga? Will I offer help to those who need it, for the sole reason that I know it can make a difference? All of these thoughts are ones that cross my mind. I want others to understand that I am not a looney, that yes. it may seem difficult to make certain changes in your life. Yes, some others may not get it, but when you feel a push to do something, you should just go for it. Try it out. I didn't really feel like I had anything to lose when I just jumped right in. I am thankful for those that support me and doubt me, you are both pushing me further than you think.
I am so blessed to be able to share a few words with you before work this morning. It is raining out, and getting out of my warm bed is not going to be easy. Stay safe today. Smile. Tell a stranger hello. Make life different. Start now.

One weekend down...

Well it is over. 

via thewriting

The first weekend of my vegan eating that is. I ate great, and although I have had a slight headache for the past two days I am feeling great! I have slept like a rock the past few nights, and with all this cold weather moving in it just has been super hard to get out of the bed in the mornings. 
I went to my first official "adventure club only" class on Sunday. I enjoyed all that we learned, but feel like I still might slightly stick out like a sore thumb. I make jokes when I get nervous and I am not afraid to talk to strangers, but these people don't know my personality so they might just think I am awkward and weird. Regardless, I did well with the calling of the salutations and my timing was pretty spot on. I am excited to get more comfortable with the others in the class and understand their personalities. I still feel like a fish out of water around these people that have complete 180* different views than I, but I still hope to find more out about them and the way that they think.
The further I go in this, I hope to share easy recipes that can be eaten by both vegans and non-vegans with just little tweaks. Last night we had an easy stir-fry and while everyone else had chicken added to theirs, I enjoyed only vegetables. I think the hardest part of my diet will be figuring out what I can and can't have, and although it takes some time to figure out what to eat, I have yet to feel hungry at all. 
Hopefully I will share my "charting" with you this upcoming week along with the books I am reading and movies I must watch. I am anxious about the views they have towards animals, agriculture, and the way of life I have always known, but know that media can portray most anything, and I will always trust my own instinct. 
Hope all you had a wonderful weekend. Stay warm tonight! 

What's a girl to eat?

Well day one is down. And it was easy. WHOA... seriously, probably the only time you will hear that. The eating part was easy, I wasn't entirely hungry and I only had a craving when someone opened a NutterButter in front of me. RUDE. The grocery shopping part. That was the devil. What exactly is one supposed to eat when you can't have the following??
milk cheese butter  any kind of dairy eggs meat  fish sugar alcohol
So yeah, the grocery store was a doozie, but it will get better. It has too. I am going to be a better planner, going to cook huge meals in advanced and eat on them throughout the week. Stir-fry veggies and rice, vegetable soup, ... that's all I got for now.
On to the more yoga side of things... I officially met my teacher tonight. He is totally blissed out, so at peace with everything. Very let it be kind of guy. I am excited. He doubts me, I can hear it in his voice and see it in the way he looks at me. I want to prove him wrong, I want to prove myself right. I can do this. This meat eating, agriculture loving, God-fearing woman can do this. I will do this.  Charting started today too and I will share more about that as I get further into the program.
I am tired tonight though. Tired and confident.  Goodnight all. Blessed to be here. Right here.

Finding Lavana

Greetings!  It sure has been a while, so the amount of people that are still around this place has surely depleted. It's a brand new year and I have made it my goal to begin documenting the craziness that is about to go on for the next 5 or so months.  As I have made it known from previous posts, my life changed for the better last March sometime. I became extremely interested in yoga and the way it affects your body in the most amazing ways. I expanded my practice and pushed myself to go daily over the summer, slowed down at the beginning of fall and have struggled through the holidays. It has been in my head recently that I wanted to push my practice even further, so the time has come to begin a teachers training. I am unsure of where this will take me in the future, whether it will lead to leading classes on my own, or just be an extension of my personal practice, but I am excited. 

and here comes the scary part...  In order to complete the program, there are a series of guidelines that I must follow, the hardest including becoming a vegan and giving up alcohol. You can read more about the program here, but all in all I will begin charting tomorrow.  I must keep up with various parts of my life and chart daily. It is going to be a struggle. I KNOW THAT. But I am also confident that I can make it through. I am also quite sure there will be a few mess ups. A few drinks had and a piece of steak or two eaten, but I am excited. And also scared. Growing up around agriculture, I don't have a problem eating meat, drinking milk, or chowing down on a bowl of cheese dip from the mexican restaurant. I don't find eating meat to be a form of animal cruelty, but rather as a way that things are. The way that things were meant to be. That being said, I also respect that others have beliefs that differ from my own, and that is perfectly fine. Great in fact. Who wants everyone to be the same? Not I. Life is much more fun and interesting when there are different folks around.  With all that out there in the open, I am super excited about pushing myself past my new limits, learning about new food, and finding some great new recipes. I plan on sharing it all here. The ups, the downs, the cravings, the stories of new friends, weird ideas, things I don't agree with and the things I do.
I will explain more as time goes on, but for the time being I am off to down my last bowl of cheese dip. Happy New Year yall! Excited to be back and sharing my life in this space.