sadie nardini, the practical yogini

sadie nardini, founder of core strength vinyassa yoga and co-owner of the fierce club in nyc (and my teacher, so yes of course i may be biased), makes yoga not only relative to the modern world, but also accessible.

my top 5 reasons to check out sadie & core strength vinyasa yoga:

1. youtube queen [read: free yoga] - i especially enjoy yoga for the face and the bon jovi mantra, but bootyasana is also an obvious fave for the season.


2. firecely free - get your first class at the fierce club free - now that is big savings for the big apple.
   


3. power hour in your living room - a top 10 dvd on amazon, sadie now offers 2 dvds for at-home centering, strength-building, heart-pumping asana sequences.


4. budget-savvy certification - sadie knows how to pack in the calorie-burning fest while finding center in just an hour class & she offers an amazing 9-day intensive training to teach you how (you can also do the training at home for half the price)!
   
   
   
5. yoga for winos - the best of both worlds - sadie is hosting a wine & yoga retreat in tuscany this june! sadie will help you detox so you can retox daily [read: live it up on vacay sans the hangover], all the while enjoying ITALY! what's not to love?

purify on the cheap

nowadays, cleansing & detoxing tend to come with a rather hefty price tag, which is why i am so elated with the amazing trader joe's bath product i just discovered!

[enter]purify, grapefruit chamomile sea salt scrub.

it really is all-natural, so there is no worry what you are actually are rubbing all over your skin that will soon be absorbed into the rest of your body.

here are the small list of ingredients (no scary ones): sea salt, sweet almond oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, apricot kernel oil, blend of natural & essential oils, vitamin e, vitamin c.

the oils in the scrub are super moisturizing & eliminate that extra step of lotion after the shower (god, knows i can need all the help i can get when getting ready quickly). the fragrance is sublte, invigorating & delicious. only a few days & it truly is working wonders on my dry spots (ankles, elbows,knees)... now only if it came in a tube - the jar like most scrubs is a two hand process - unscrew, scoop, put lid back, & scrub - but for the $6.49 pricetag for 22oz, i'm willing to look past that (for now)!

if you're feeling crafty, you can always try making your own - look for my upcoming adventures in homemade scrubs to come (after i finish my purify jar of course).

what are your fave scrubs?

madame cleanse

in hopes of a fresh start i have been doing the master (or madame, as i like to call it) cleanse for the past few days. i am just finishing up day 4 & feel really energetic & alive!!

for some support i have been posting daily reminders on twitter to keep me going & share my cleanse with others tweeting out there. kimberly dm'ed me asking about some deets on my cleanse, so i took that as a sign for this post (thanks kimberly!).

i have found that it's really more about willpower & your mental focus than the lemonade.

i'll admit, going to my friends' post-holiday, white elephant party on saturday was definitely tough with all of the yummy treats. however i was really proud of myself when i got home that i didn't give in, even though that baked brie with a pastry crust & apricots still looks amazing in my head....

since i eat relatively healthy, i haven't encountered headaches or some of the other side effects, but i know others who have.

although the original m.c. calls for 10 days, i do a moderate 5 day cleanse. since this is my second time doing the cleanse, perhaps next time i will consider the full 10 days next time, but right now i am only mentally prepped for 5. here's the rundown:

• the day before my m.c.: ate only veggies & fruit (no meat, dairy, or grains/carbs).
• day #1: 6 glasses of m.c. juice + 4 glasses of water + 1 herbal laxative tea (night)
• day #2: salt water flush(morning) + 6 glasses of m.c. juice + 4 glasses of water + 1 herbal laxative tea (night)
• day #3: 6 glasses of m.c. juice + 4 glasses of water + 1 chamomile tea (my treat!) + 1 herbal laxative tea (night) - i woke up too late to do the salt water flush
• day #4: 8 glasses of m.c. juice + 4 glasses of water + 1 tangerine ginger (my treat!) - no herbal laxative tea
  
• day #5 - tomorow i am stopping my cleanse: i plan to have 1 final glass of m.c. juice in the morning + 3 glasses of o.j. + veggie soup
• day #6: veggies & fruit (similar to the day before starting my cleanse)

here's my bulk m.c. recipe:
(1 cup = 4 servings)
the concentrate:

• 1 cup lemon/lime juice (8 oz)
• 1 cup maple grade b organic syrup (8 oz)
• 1 tsp of cayenne pepper

water:

• 40 oz of water (5 cups) - preferably spring or purified water

the salt water flush:

• 1 qt of luke warm water (32 oz)
• 2 tsp of uniodized sea salt
  

what to do: drink the entire quart of salt & water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. the salt & water will not separate, but will stay intact & quickly (& i do mean QUICK) & thoroughly wash the entire digestive tract in about one hour. i literally set my alarm to wake up early to do this because the effects usually last about 2-3 hours for me, where i make several urgent trips to the bathroom. since the salt water has the same specific gravity as the blood, hence the kidneys cannot pick up the water & the blood cannot pick up the salt, so it runs right through you!

in addition to the day-by-day breakdown, here are some very important tips/recommendations to remember:

• the salt water flush goes right through you. you need to dedicate a few hours in the morning where you will be near a bathroom (preferably at home).
• instead of juicing my own lemons (which is highly recommended) i actually buy santa cruz organic lemon & lime juice at whole foods - it ultimately comes out cheaper than juicing my own organic lemons & it's so much more convenient! some say it reduces the effectiveness of the cleanse, but i haven't noticed.
  
• i make a bulk concentrate in the morning so that i can bring a bottle of the concentrate to work & then i just add water the single servings (4 oz of the concentrate) to a glass of water.
• the herbal laxative tea that i prefer is yogi tea get regular.
• other tea i sip sometimes during the day is yogi tea fasting.

do you cleanse? share your experiences with me!