Q and A a Day, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Ham on Rye, Catch-22, The Best of Roald Dahl, Norwegian Wood

Why I Always Carry A Book Around

A friend of mine recently asked me this question: “Why do you think we should always keep a book with ourselves? I personally feel that it a good way of staying in isolation and leading life with someone’s else’s experience. I love books and respect the fact that it gives lots of knowledge but I also feel we slowly become book worms and speak very bookish language and forget ourselves. What do you think?”

For as long as I can remember, books have been a hugely important part of my life. Throughout my whole career as a student, I always brought a book to school with me. I kept it on the corner of my desk to read whenever I finished a test early or to read during recess. I always have one in my purse, whether I’m going to a quiet social gathering with my friends or to some bigger function. Books are an essential and enormous part of me, and maybe because of this, I can’t fathom spending life as a non-reader.

Are Books Isolating?

I think that whether carrying a book around at all times depends on whether or not you think isolation is a bad thing or not. As an introvert, it’s always a comfort for me to have a book on hand so that if I’m feeling exhausted in a social situation, I can retreat into a book and find some privacy there. I don’t even necessarily need to read the book for it to be a comfort for me. Just having it around is nice. Furthermore, it’s usually the people that I’m closest to who I’m comfortable sitting and reading, enjoying companionable silence with.

I also don’t think that having a book on hand has to be isolating. In fact, I often find that it can be a topic for conversation when I’m out and about. I’ll get questions from strangers asking what I’m reading or if I see somebody reading something that looks interesting to me I’ll ask them about it. Books can actually serve as a way for me to connect with the people around me who I would normally be too shy to talk to!

Stories Make Us More Empathetic

Reading stories exposes us to the life stories, experiences, and emotions of the people we read about. There are many lives I’ve read about that I wouldn’t necessarily want to live for myself, but that I am grateful for having read about. By reading books written by different people and from their different perspectives, I feel like I’ve gotten a glimpse into so many lives and am better able to imagine things from their points-of-view. If you want a little more info, check out this video!

Books are one of my greatest joys, and reading is a very meditative experience for me. I don’t think there’s any thing wrong with being a bookworm or connecting with others over a story. Many of my friendships have been built through a mutual love for books!

Yoga Problems: My First Yoga Class

Personal, Yoga

If you haven’t noticed, keeping the blog updated has been a bit tricky as of late. There have been some fun and new things going on lately, so I thought I would leave you with this quick update.

I got to do something super awesome about a month ago – I taught my first public yoga class! This was a huge and hugely scary accomplishment for me, and I wanted to share my experience in the hopes that it will help any aspiring yoga instructors who happen upon this to feel more enthusiastic and better prepared for their own first classes.

Tackling Stage Fright

One of the first issues that comes to my mind in regard to teaching is the dreaded stage fright. Something I may or may not have mentioned here before (Have I? Ugh, my failing memory…) is that I have a crippling fear of public speaking. This is one of the big reasons why I wanted to do teacher training in the first place. I know that I have things I want to share with people, but this is significantly more difficult when you forget how to speak English while faced with an audience. Even if it is an audience of one! I wanted to become more confident in myself, more comfortable and excited to share, and challenge myself to do something that I could hardly imagine myself capable of. And so I did it!

Preparation

A good teacher training program will help you feel ready to start teaching and your first class will feel like the next natural step. The program that I took was 4 months long, and we spent that time putting together our first classes and teaching it to one another in pairs and small groups. I remember when I first demonstrated Warrior II to a partner, I could see my front hand shaking uncontrollably. I wanted to smack it accompanied by a firm admonishment, “You stop that, hand!” While the jitters hadn’t completely dispersed by the time I taught my presentation class, they had died down to giant butterflies and profuse sweating. But at least the trembling had stopped! I felt ready (as ready as one can feel in that situation) to teach because of all the practice we had done both inside and outside of teacher training, aided by the presence of my amazing support system and the opening of my class with many a deep breath.

Have a Support System

My presentation class was composed of my fellow teacher trainees along with several members of my family and friends. The really cool thing about this particular group was, while I was busy agonizing and massively working myself up about it, one of the big things that helped to calm me down was the knowledge that I would be surrounded by people who love me. These people have been supportive and excited for me throughout the whole YTT journey, and they wanted to see me succeed. This was powerful stuff, for me, when I was truly struggling not to panic.

Pranayama (Breath Work)

The breath work we did at the beginning of class (and working to maintain long, even breaths throughout class) was also extremely helpful in soothing my nerves. Deep breathing is pretty freaking magical. Not only is it calming, taking some time during the day to take some slow and deep breaths offers all of these other amazing benefits you can expect:

Improved sleep, energy, and immunity
Decreased heart rate
Decreased blood pressure
Improved concentration, memory, attention, and learning efficiency
Improved mood
Improved sense of well-being
Decreased feelings of depression and anxiety

Mistakes

I am sure I have many a lesson to learn throughout my yoga career, but here are some important ones learned during my first class:

Don’t take your child’s pose while trying to teach it. Yoga mats, I quickly discovered, are a fairly sound absorbent material and will muffle the crap out of your voice.
Things I felt I was doing really slowly went really quickly for students who were new to yoga. Vice versa, when I was teaching these things to more experienced students during teacher training, some of them mentioned that I was holding the poses for a bit too long. I also found that the length of time I was holding poses was difficult to gauge during my presentation class probably due to nerves. You can’t please everyone!
Next time I teach, I might actually try looking at my students while teaching! There were so many different things to focus on what with remembering my sequence and the cues to go along with it that I had trouble coming out of my head to check out what the class was doing. I know that all of this this will come with practice and I’m not too hung up about it.

Now that YTT is over, I should be able to update more which I’m looking forward to! I also can’t wait to get teaching and to continue learning and growing this new part of my life.

Hope your holiday season is going swimmingly! See you in 2015!
xxoo

Joyous Health Review

Product Review, Wellbeing

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a bit of a bibliophile and thus, I can never be found without a book in hand. For a while now, that book has been my go-to cookbook, Joyous Health: Eat and Live Well without Dieting by Joy McCarthy. I just can’t seem to keep my nose out of it. Whenever I’m feeling like I need some recipe inspiration, or even a little cheering up, it has definitely proven helpful to look through this vibrant and beautifully designed book.

Fun fact: Joy was one of my instructors at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition where she taught one of our social media classes. She was so energetic and awesome as a result of which, I’ve been following her blog ever since.

“Joyous health is more than the absence of disease or the avoidance of the occasional cold or flu. It is an optimal state of wellness not just physically but mentally and socially, characterized by: a positive mindset, feeling and looking fabulous, good digestion and elimination, restorative sleep, healthy relationships, having energy for exercise and sex, [and] feeling joyous!”

As much as I love a good cookbook, I like a good lifestyle guide even more. Over half of “Joyous Health” is a lifestyle and wellness directory. It’s the perfect book for individuals who are just beginning their wellness journey, and aren’t sure where to start. In the lifestyle guide section of the book, Joy provides her 6-week program to “Joyous Health”, including tips for improving your digestion, improving your emotional health, and a 10-day meal plan complete with easy-to-follow recipes and simple ingredients. It was quite a struggle to keep myself from highlighting the whole book.

The book is all-encompassing and approaches health from a truly holistic perspective, featuring everything from food elimination for optimal digestion; how to clean up your beauty regimen; a list of her favourite superfoods; how to give your kitchen a makeover; and how to improve your mental health though activities like yoga, meditation and pursing healthy and positive relationships.

The photography and design of the book is stunning. It is bright and colourful, and truly puts you in an atmosphere of joy, hopefulness, and positivity while reading it. I also tend to have a bit of a thing for lists, which there is no shortage of in these pages.

I made quite a few of the recipes in the book, but one of my favourites was the Curry Lentil Loaf on page 234. It is so filling and delicious, and it makes a huge batch of the stuff. I ended up recently finding a few squares that I froze a couple of months ago and I am so happy to be re-enjoying this recipe. It’s fabulous on its own, or crumbled over a salad (and is especially tasty saturated in balsamic vinaigrette with some goat cheese and sundried tomato).

“Joyous Health” is definitely a must-have on my health and wellness shelf. Though it actually doesn’t spend very much time on said shelf since I’m so often riffling through it!

Oh She Glow's nutty granola clusters with yogurt and green apple slices

Ode to Autumn

Holidays, Personal

Autumn is my favourite season because there seems to be so much potential in the air. I don’t know if it’s the the remnants of childhood nostalgia for each new school year, but ever since I’ve always felt excited for fall. It could be because the colder weather tends to keep me cooped up inside that I don’t feel at all guilty for taking advantage of that time to do indoor activities like curling up with a book, or settling into a writing session with a cup of coffee. Here is my ode to autumn, a list of some of my favourite autumnal things:

Bundling. Layering. Nesting. Cuddling.

I love the crisp and chilly air this time of year. My current uniform consists of giant scarves, leg warmers, fingerless gloves and wool socks. My bed looks like a bird’s nest of pillows and blankets (I have, approximately, 7 pillows in my bed, 3 couch throws, and a duvet). This time of year begs for cuddling. It starts to get dark so early, which is perfect for spending many an hour curled up in my bed fort and winding down.

Warm, comforting foods and familial feasting.

By the time autumn hits, I’m usually pretty over green salads. These days, I’m all about soups and stews, hot beverages, hearty salads (featuring warming add-ons like goat cheese, toasted nuts and seeds, roasted veggies, and whole grains), and comfort foods like this granola! I used the Nutty Granola Clusters recipe from The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out!

Florence + the Machine’s Ceremonials

This is my quintessential soundtrack to cold weather. There are elements of magic and fantasy throughout the whole album, with a tendency toward the sparkly and haunting. Florence’s voice floats effortlessly through a huge range of tonal qualities. Her voice transitions from loud and abrasive to quiet and choral, plus a bit of everything in between. My favourite song on the album is ‘Seven Devils’. There is a beautiful variety of songs on this album, but ‘Seven Devils’ is the stand out, in my opinion. I usually listen to Ceremonials in order, but I’m always excited for ‘Seven Devils’ to come on, though I usually do my best to resist the urge to skip through to it because I know it will be worth the wait. This song is filled with these big cacophonous sounds like someone is banging on the bass end of a piano, layered with some gorgeous dissonance and next level creepiness. Like, give-you-nightmares creepy. Which brings me to my next favourite thing.

Spooky Halloween stuff.

I love the air of spookiness that hangs around during the colder months. In addition to surrounding myself with creepy music, I love the Halloween decorations that people put out on their lawns and drape their homes with. I especially love a good horror novel, like my most recent read, “Let Me In” by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It’s this super dark and disturbing Swedish novel, and it’s an amazing read if you don’t feel like sleeping at night.

I have to say, I’m a bit worried. I hope to enjoy autumn for several more weeks. I felt a pang of panic when I heard this morning that we’d be getting some snow this weekend. Ugh, I’m not ready.

FEAST Restaurant Review + A Love Letter to My Favourite Gypsy

Restaurant Review, Toronto

In the hustle and bustle of prepping for my trip to Bald Head Island, I had the bittersweet experience of saying a temporary goodbye to Saar, who has just departed on another stretch of world travelling. She has had a pretty huge impact on my life in the two years that I’ve known her, and even though she just left, I already can’t wait for our next reunion. Who knows where it will be… Bali, Thailand… I’m sure it will be one of her favourite places somewhere in this beautiful world, and she can give me the grand tour!

Ever since Saar included it in her ‘5 Musts for August‘ post I’ve been dying to try out FEAST (Fabulous Eats for the Allergic and Sensitive Types). This being our last get-together for the next little while, it seemed only appropriate that we pop in. We took a lovely stroll down Crawford, through Trinity Bellwoods Park, to West Queen West, where you’ll find Feast.

When you first walk in, you’ll notice that Feast is more like a specialty grocery store than a sit down eatery. Along one wall are shelves stocked with chocolates, oils, and other tasty-looking goodies, all blessedly free of common allergens. There are a few bar stools and a counter looking out the front window. The space is light and airy. We were quickly offered samples of the store’s housemade coconut butter – which tastes pretty close to real butter, actually – and nut butters (chocolate sunflower butter! What, what?).

In the glass case by the front counter were an assortment of pocket pies: Jerk Chicken, The Beefeater, and Vegan Curried Black Bean. I went with the black bean pocket pie this time. The pastry was perfect (tender, chewy, and totally convincing for those who are still a bit leery of gluten-free flours) but the filling left a little bit to be desired… a bit more spice or a dipping sauce would have been a lovely addition here.

In a cooler next to the counter are some interesting beverages, including Toronto-based Vams’ kefir water and kombucha.

We sat down in the bar stools by the window, and smiled at everyone who walked by. It was great.

For dessert, I picked up a pair of coconut caramels, which were sooooo yummy. Up in front is their Tropical Caramel (coconut and pineapple, sprinkled with sea salt), and in the back is one of Feast’s Chocolate Krispies (cacao nibs and puffed rice cereal).

After lunch, we explored some of the surrounding stores. Next door to Feast is “Type”, a beautifully curated bookshop. It was perfect for vegging out in with a satisfied tummy. Saar and I grabbed seats in the children’s section at the back and read picture books to one another.

Before long, we headed back out into the sunshine to check out some more of the neighbourhood (a very pretty and trendy neighbourhood at the moment) and to grab some green juice.

While at Feast, I had also grabbed one of their Triple Chocolate Love donuts. We plopped down under an oak tree in Trinity Bell Woods park so I could dig in. Also very yummy, but really more cake-like, if I remember correctly, than any donut I’ve ever had.

Love you, buddy. <3 (Saar. Not the donut. Okay, also the donut.)

Annemarie Dixon

Designer in Burlington, Ontario

Author: exquisitegeneric