Happy Friday, Friends! I was dancing around this morning thinking how strange it is to have a body. A strange and lovely responsibility.. one that I took for granted for far too long. I have talked about how when I began practicing yoga it was more about vanity than sanity. Who is to say how long it went on that way but in recovery yoga has saved my a** (and maybe lifted it a little too), mostly by sparking my appetite. I was underweight, had no energy or muscle tone. I had no physical foundation or authority and no desire to eat more than once a day. That changed when I started doing yoga in the morning again. I could not pass on breakfast. There was no waiting until late in the afternoon to finally make a meal happen. I was officially hungry and that got me fully engaged in my life and in touch with myself again. It gave me the energy and desire to care for myself in new ways. If you can relate, I implore you to roll out your mat take some deep breaths, show your body some love and wake up your appetite! The poses lengthen and strengthen, flex and extend many of the main muscles of the body, distributing prana (your life-force energy) throughout the system. Guts included. The lunges and forward and backward bending poses especially stimulate the stomach, spleen and liver meridians. And who in recovery can say the don’t like things that are stimulating? It doesn’t take much. Ten to fifteen minutes a day will have you sharpening your fork, shining your spoon and being more mindful about what you choose to eat. Cross my heart.

Day 242: Quinoa cooked in coconut milk with ginger, sweet potato and bloobs. I was kind of disappointed to wake up and realize that it is time to make a grocery run but this simple bowl was really comforting. The quinoa was already cooked, leftover from the other night. I just covered it with coconut milk and a few slices of ginger to steep. Threw in half of a leftover roasted sweet potato and the last of my blueberries and let it warm through.  Some fiber, protein, antioxidants, vitamin. So good.