Food Corner...

Right now Florida avocados are in season and they are creamy and delicious! But, because they’re lower in fat than Hass, treat them differently. For toast and guacamole, “don’t whip it to death,” advises farmer Margie Pikarsky of Bee Heaven Farm. “Make it chunky. It will be nuttier, creamier and lighter.”

Easy Ways to Enjoy Florida Avocados

Obviously there's guacamole and avocado toast. Here are some fresh preparations tips:

• Cut it in half and grill it with a squirt of lime
• Make an avocado smoothie: add a touch of yogurt, some honey         and passion fruit   
• Add slices to a Caprese salad

 • Serve eggs with avocado, cheese & sprouts
• Combine sliced avo, grapefruit segments and spinach for a                   surprisingly successful salad combo

Favorite Place to Buy Florida Avocados

Skip the big chain stores and connect with your community, local farmers and vendors at a nearby farmer's market. Check out your neighborhood, or visit the amazing folks at Urban Oasis Project who have markets throughout Miami

The more you know ...

Build your yoga practice from strong foundations by including a little yoga philosophy. The physical exercises and breathing techniques were designed to keep the body strong and healthy so the practitioner could more easily reach for the deeper aspects of yoga.

In fact, the yoga postures or asanas are step three of eight on the path of Yoga. The first 2 steps are super important and have everything to do with how you navigate the world, and how you conduct yourself personally.

Take the very first ethic in yoga, part 1 of the 1st step- nonviolence or ahimsa. The yogi must try to live without harming themselves or others with their thoughts, words or actions. So the Western notion of "no pain, no gain" makes less sense. Add the next part satya or truthfulness, and see the foundation set for a safe, measured practice, free of injury from aggressive thoughts or "pushing it" too hard. Meeting yourself instead, without expectations, just as you are today, present and open to the moment.

That was the idea, that you understood and were trying to practice  the fundamental ethics of a yogi- many of these will sound familiar:

1st Step

• non violence
• be truthful
• don't steal
• don't be greedy
• self-control

2nd Step

• purity
• contentment
• effort (with vigor!)
• self-study (but really, READ things that inspire you)
• surrender to God (Goddess/Universe/Highest, wisest Self/whatever idea of a higher power that works for you

To go further into these first two steps of Yoga, I recommend reading Yoga of the Heart: Ten Ethical Principles for Gaining Limitless Growth, Confidence, and Achievement by Alice Christensen. She speaks plainly and has great stories and examples. This book helped me make sense of some very esoteric concepts. I wish I'd found it earlier, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't ready to read it then.

Inspiration

I will leave you with this amazing, inspirational acceptance speech by Sheryl Lee Ralph when she won the Emmy for Abbott Elementary. Did you catch it? This is a must see for everyone, and for anyone who has ever had a dream- check it out!