GymBuddiez.com Blog » Yoga

The Dangers of Yoga

eyun — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:04:50 +0000

Ruptured disks, broken ribs–new story sheds light on yoga's dark side.

Yoga’s meteoric rise in popularity means that, inevitably, some people would start abusing its benefits.

5 Ways To Be a Good Yoga Neighbor

Erica Rodefer — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:46:36 +0000

Many yoga studio websites have a list of yoga etiquette guidelines. Usually, it includes a lot of things you aren’t supposed to do… like “don’t wear heavy perfumes” or “don’t make a lot of noise if you come in late.” And, of course, “never EVER leave during Savasana.” I suppose these are important things–especially for beginning yoga students who might not know what to expect when they go to their first yoga class. But this post isn’t about things you shouldn’t do.

Instead, I want to write about things you CAN do to be a good yoga neighbor–both in the yoga studio and as a member of the greater yoga community in general.

Here are 5 ways to be a better yoga neighbor.

1. Be friendly. There’s nothing worse than being the only newbie in an established yoga class. You know the kind–where everyone around you is all chummy-chummy while you sit there and awkwardly stare at your toes? If you are a life-of-the-party sort of yogi, you could do the rest of us a favor and go out of your way to make everyone feel welcome. You acknowledge the beauty in all beings at the end of class by saying “Namaste.” Why not make it your practice the whole time you’re at the studio?

2. Listen. How often do we engage in small talk with someone and pay very little attention to what he or she is saying? This is the antithesis of yoga! If you ask someone a question before, during, or after yoga class, pay attention to the answer. It’s one amazingly simple way to honor the people who show up to practice beside you.

3. Respect boundaries. Have you ever been on an airplane with someone who couldn’t take the hint that you don’t feel like chatting for the entire four-hour flight? It’s not fun. Some people don’t want to sit and chat at yoga class either. It’s not personal. Pay attention to the cues people give and if they’re not feeling chatty, respect their space. Sometimes being a good yoga neighbor means knowing when to back off.

4. Offer your support without judgment. Let’s be honest. Even though a yoga studio should be a safe haven, beneath the surface there can be layers upon layers of judgment. We judge ourselves. We compare our poses to the poses of our neighbors. During the break of a daylong workshop, we might even notice (and judge) what others chose to pack in their lunches. The best way to be a great yoga neighbor, is to offer support and withhold judgment of ourselves and our neighbors–especially if those neighbors eat cupcakes for lunch.

5. Be real. Part of the problem with judgment in yoga studios is that people tend to be so worried about what others will think that they hide who they really are. Maybe they wait until they get home to eat their cupcakes (guilty!). Or maybe they just want others to think they’re more spiritual or more dedicated to the practice than they actually are (guilty again!). Unfortunately, that just makes those around you feel either really inadequate. Either way it’s not good. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re all human. We all make mistakes. Just be really honest about who you are, and the struggles you face in your practice and your life.

What would you add to the list?

Erica Rodefer is a writer and yoga enthusiast in
Charleston, SC. Visit her blog, Spoiledyogi.com,
follow her on Twitter, or like
her on Facebook.

Recipe Adaptations

Samin Nosrat — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:02:01 +0000

Four times in the past seven days, I’ve made soufflé, at tricky dish that I typically cook half a dozen times a year.

My soufflés always turn out fine–while I wouldn’t call myself an egg white savant, I do understand most of the science and artistry behind what makes a light, airy soufflé. But in my cooking, fine isn’t what I aim for; I want everything I serve to be the most delicious version of itself. And when I prepare a dish only a handful of times a year, I don’t really have much of an opportunity to master its ins and outs, let alone figure out how to achieve the most flavor or best texture.

What’s been particularly illuminating about my soufflé experiences over the past week is this: I have to add WAY more egg whites than any recipe begins to hint at in order to get the kind of lightness I’m after. There’s a joke in the Chez Panisse kitchen about the recipe book filled with all of the standards, tucked away behind the knife rolls and emergency aprons in the utensil drawer: none of the recipes work if you just follow them to the letter. You have to do an exhaustive investigation each time you’re assigned to cook one of those old favorites, asking everyone who’s been there longer than you for their secret techniques and ingredients, and even then you’re often answered with vague responses that leave you more confused than when you began.

It’s an idiosyncratic system, yes, but it does something really remarkable: it forces you to try things, to fail, to practice, and to learn by experience and repetition, which in my opinion is the best way to master any skill. With yoga, though our deepest experiences on the mat might come in class when we are led by our favorite teachers, often our biggest breakthroughs and moments of understanding come to us during our home practice, where we’ve collected the information, advice, and technical tools and have put them to the test with no guides but ourselves.

So though the recipe in the booklet in that drawer at Chez Panisse says to use an equal amount of egg yolks and whites, everyone there knows to add extra whites for lightness. What I’d never understood until this week–the first time in my career I’ve made soufflés four times in a row–is just how many extra egg whites it actually takes to get that ethereal texture. Each time I cooked this week, I pushed the boundary back a bit, adding substantially more whites in search of that perfect texture. By Monday, I was adding so many I feared that I’d ruin the dish and dilute its flavor, but surprisingly–magically, even–that batch was my best ever. They were perfect little pillows of springtime garlic, and I couldn’t have been prouder to have finally cracked the code.

Now the question remains, how come no one ever records this in a recipe?

Green Garlic Pudding Souffle

Adapted from the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook

Serves 6.

5 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups milk, slightly warmed

Salt

2 branches thyme

1 medium onion

1/2 pound green garlic, sliced

A pinch cayenne

1/2 cup grated Gruyère cheese

Pepper

3 eggs, separated and at room temperature

3 egg whites only, room temperature

1/3 cup heavy cream

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat in a very heavy-bottomed pan. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring to keep the flour from browning. Slowly pour in the milk, a little at a time, whishing each addition until smooth before adding more. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the thyme branches. Cook over very low heat for 20 minutes or so, until this béchamel sauce is medium-thick and lump-free. Stir frequently to be sure it’s not sticking. Cool to room temperature. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Dice the onion and cook over medium heat in one tablespoon of butter. When the onion becomes translucent, after about 5 minutes, add the sliced green garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and a splash of water and lower the heat. Cook until the garlic is soft and the water nearly evaporated. Add more water to prevent browning if necessary.

Cook the mixture and then puree in a food processor or food mill. Stir the puree into the béchamel. Add the cayenne, Gruyère, and some freshly ground pepper, and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning–the sauce should be fairly highly seasoned. Add the three egg yolks, lightly beaten, and mix well again.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Generously butter six 8-ounce ramekins, then coat with the grated Parmesan cheese. Beat the six egg whites until they form soft peaks and fold them into the soufflé base in two batches. Fill the ramekins and place them in a deep baking dish. Pour hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the soufflés are puffed and golden brown from the top. Carefully remove the ramekins from the water bath. When the soufflés have cooled a bit, unmold them by running a paring knife along the edge of each ramekin, inverting the soufflé into the palm of your hand, and placing it in a shallow baking dish, top side up. The pudding-souffles can now be held at room temperature for a few hours.

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 425°F. Pour the cream over and around the soufflés. Bake until the cream is hot and bubbling and the soufflés are puffed up again, about 6-8 minutesServe with the hot cream.

Variation: If green garlic is unavailable, you can make a similar puree using leeks, scallions, and a few cloves of garlic.