Thank you for your patience! It took me a few extra days than usual to upload our March Yoga and Cooking classes to the classroom. Both are now ready for you! If you've tried making the flatbreads, let's see your pictures!! After class, I cooked up the extra dough and had some great puffing action with the Chapatis. If you're interested in yoga classes, recipes and instructions, all are found inside the classroom. Upgrading to Premium can be done at any time.

The number PI (3.141592653589793238...... ) is a infinite, irrational number that calculates the circumference of a perfect circle divided by the distance across that circle. Regardless of the size of the circle, the number PI is the answer. In vedic philosophy, PI represents the infinite and eternal nature of the cosmos (Brahman). For fun, today is also celebrated with PIES, which ironically are also circles! In December's cooking class, we made mini Mince Pies for the holidays, which were so cute and tasty. Tell me...what's your favorite pie?

The food you eat can affect your mood and your mood can affect what you choose to eat. The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 17, Verses 8-10) shares how food influences our consciousness, moods, and mental health. The qualities (Gunas) of the food is categorized as Sattvic (pure/calm), Rajasic (agitated/passionate), and Tamasic (lethargic/dull). The core principle is “jaisa ann, waisa mann” (as is the food, so is the mind), emphasizing fresh, nutritious food to maintain a balanced, peaceful mind. 1. Sattvic Foods (Goodness & Peace): These foods promote longevity, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction. They are juicy, smooth, substantial, and pleasing to the heart. - Examples: Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, milk, and ghee. - Mood: Calm, clear, and peaceful. 2. Rajasic Foods (Passion & Agitation): These foods are excessively bitter, sour, salty, pungent, dry, and hot. They cause pain, grief, and disease. - Examples: Excessive spices, caffeine, strong tea, coffee, and highly processed or salty snacks. - Mood: Restless, agitated, and emotional. 3. Tamasic Foods (Ignorance & Lethargy): These foods are stale, tasteless, putrid, decomposed, or impure. They cause dullness and laziness. - Examples: Meat, fish, alcohol, leftovers, and heavily processed or fast food. - Mood: Lethargic, depressed, and confused. In addition to WHAT foods we eat, the HOW, WHERE, WHEN and WHY also affect our Food and Mind. - Mindful Eating: Eating with gratitude and without being in a rush, treating it as a spiritual act. - Offering Food (Prasadam): Offering gratitude and pray for the food, gifting it to the Divine first transforms it into prasadam, which purifies the consciousness. - Moderation: Neither overeating nor starving supports a balanced mind, which is essential for meditation and productivity. - Freshness: Eating freshly cooked food maintains prana (life force), while reheated, old food is considered to be dead or dumb.

I loved the talk on digestion that we did at last class. Carol's reminder to chew our food 32 times to start digestion was great. I have learned that before, but needed that reminder. Great class on making paneer and using it in a meal. Wonderful heart opening class with Kathleen Wright before the cooking class, got me up early and ready for the day!