November 20 marked one year since I graduated from the Asheville Yoga Center (AYC) with my 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification.

    This past Sunday, while reflecting upon the three-week, intense, immersive experience, I felt extra-sentimental and weepy. Perhaps that was due to my escalating pregnancy hormones! Nonetheless, it's an experience I recall with huge feelings, one that transformed me forever. 

      Thus, for this blog post, I share with you my "baby pose," Crescent Lunge, shown in the photo above. Each teacher trainee was assigned a pose based on his or her introduction to the rest of the group within the first 15 minutes of training on the first day. Throughout the three weeks, our teaching assignments had to include our "baby pose" in some way. 

     For this reason, Crescent Lunge will always hold a deep place in my heart. Each time I'm in the pose, I think of Jay, Jackie, Carol, Susan, Gillian, Sarah, Clay, Joseph, Claire, Barbara, Sam and Andie, my fellow teacher trainees who moved with me, breathed with me, meditated with me and laughed and cried with me during that rigorous, fun, challenging, transformative time in our lives, as well as our amazing teaching staff who allowed us to be us, to grow, question and process in our own unique ways. 

     Before choosing AYC as my yoga teaching school of choice, I explored the decision of becoming a yoga instructor for seven years, since 2009, to be exact. I nearly quit graduate school to go study with my Anusara teacher in southern California. Instead, I remained in school and read the Anusara teacher training manual, practiced to Anusara founder John Friend's DVD's and read yoga texts on my own. As most of us know, Anusara is no longer an entity, but the practice gave me a solid foundation of anatomy and alignment cues that I carry with me today. Another route I explored was Ashtanga. I developed a consistent Ashtanga practice and also read Ashtanga texts and became proficient in the Primary Series. I took Bikram, Hot Yoga and Kundalini classes, workshops for the chakras, to honor the changing of the seasons and to open the hips. I developed a home practice and read anatomy, meditation and asana books. 
     
      It was sometime in 2011 when I discovered AYC. I was living as a white-water rafting photographer on the Chattooga River and on a weekend visit to Asheville, I decided to take a class. I fell in love. After reading further into the center's training program, what appealed most to me was the focus on a variety of styles of yoga with a highly trained teaching staff who studied with some of the most respected and well-known names in yoga. Since 2011, I happened to find myself in Asheville about once or twice a year and always made it a point to take classes at AYC.  

     All in all, I'm glad I chose you, Asheville Yoga Center, for the rock-solid experience you gave to my group of 13 one year ago! And I'm even more happy that I took such a significant amount of time to do my own self-study, to build a solid foundation of yoga knowledge and to explore the many, many types of yoga before committing to teaching. 

     Yoga teacher training gave me the courage and confidence to share my love of yoga with others, which is equally as rewarding as my own personal practice. I look forward to continuing my yoga journey with AYC's 300-hour teacher training program!

     In this post, I share with you a list of items that helped me naturally heal plantar fasciitis, torn tendons in the arch and a heel spur. I battled with these injuries for a year and a half, from early 2013 until late 2014, after attempting to run too far, too fast in my first pregnancy, and too soon after my first child was born.

     Determined to take the holistic route, I refused cortisone shots from a podiatrist and became aggressive in learning how to cure my own ailments. It worked! The plantar fasciitis and heel spur, which was situated on the bottom of the right foot at the inner corner of the calcaneus (heel bone) where it meets the arch, are both gone, and the tendons are repaired. I was told the heel spur would never go away, but it did.  

     Shortly after healing, I began running the way I love to run and won second overall female in three races and fourth overall in one race ranging from distances of 3.5 to 15.5 miles in 2015: the Mount Summit Challenge; The Pyle Run & Ride 15.5 Mile Trail Run; the Wisconsin North Face Endurance Challenge 10K Trail Race; and the Burlington Town Bank Turkey Trot 5K. In 2016, I won first female in the Mount Summit Challenge and ran the Pittsburgh Marathon one week later. I tell you this to show how deeply healed my feet were and to exemplify that it is possible to return to normal, or even better, after such debilitating foot conditions.  

     Currently I am 21 weeks into my second pregnancy and still running. Once every two or three weeks when plantar fascia flares up, I take to my favorite healing methods and within minutes, relief sets in and stays for a few more weeks.

     To read in more detail about my foot journey, please read the May 2014 post, Rolfing Away Plantar Fasciitis & Heel Spurs. The items shown below will make more sense after reading the original post, which gives you specific lists, including internal and external remedies, professional therapies, and products that helped as well as those that hindered progress. Some items displayed below are not included in the original post, because I discovered them afterward. For instance, Birkenstocks have become one of my most useful and therapeutic daily "tools." Sometimes when plantar fascia rears it's ugly head, all I have to do is slip on a pair of Birkenstock sandals, wear them around the house for an hour or two, and symptoms have disappeared completely. They are a cute, comfy and easy preventative!
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     Further, most of these items have a story behind them. If you have questions about any of them, please leave a comment below or email me at [email protected].  Better yet, attend my Foot Yoga class at 4:45 p.m., Friday, Nov. 18 at LPS Strength & Meditation or 10 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 27 at Nemacolin Woodlands Holistic Healing Center, and we can chat after I guide you through a healing yoga sequence designed to strengthen, activate, stretch and relieve all parts of the foot and lower leg. If these dates and times do not work, I offer private in-studio Foot Yoga sessions. 

Internal Therapies:

The vinegar, spirulina, ginger, tea and turmeric were taken to combat inflammation and promote healing. An acupuncturist recommended AquaLyte water enhancer. Please consult with a professional before taking homeopathic remedies. 

External Therapies:

The Epsom salts are used for a 15-20 minute foot soak. I use the magnesium, sesame and castor oils (not at the same time) as a carrier oil before applying several drops of lavender and lemongrass essential oil to the bottoms of the feet. The essential oils can also be added to the Epsom salt bath. The golf ball is used for specific, intentional myofascial release (not just mindless rolling) on the bottom of the foot and something that has helped tremendously. 

Products:

Some products I use more than others. For instance, I am careful in using the Strassburg sock, because while keeping the foot flexed for an extended period of time might stretch the calf and arches, it can also strain the tendons around the knee. Yet, using it during the worst of the injury was effective. I currently do not need to use it at all. The Plantar Fasciitis sleeves are lovely compression to wear after a long run or a long day on the feet. The Shakti Mat provides a great surface for "walking on nails (or gravel!)" inside the home. With my high arch, I roll a towel underneath of it so that the points reach my arch as well. The Voodoo Floss was introduced to me by my sports physical therapist - please consult a PT for instruction on proper use. 

     Please share your plantar fasciitis, heel spur, strained foot tendon or other foot injury stories and how you may have used natural remedies to heal! If you're struggling with foot pain, may patience and perseverance be with you. I wish you a great day and send loving vibes to your soles.

     Thank you for reading! 

     xo,
​     :) Brynn 

    Before reading any farther, I must tell you that I'm saving the best for last. The very, very best part of this breakfast recipe post is the dessert, Banana Soft Serve, which comes from the leftovers. The soft serve is an Oh She Glows creation, a sweet, creamy, delicious vegan treat and incredibly easy to make. Without further ado, read through the breakfast stuff quickly so you can experience this delectable frozen treat!

     First, to give some background, Avie began attending a local Montessori school for a few hours a week at the beginning of this year. One of the main reasons that I chose Montessori was because of the inherent belief that superior nutrition supports superior cognitive and emotional processing. Even more, the school director, who is also one of the full-time teachers, expressed a keen awareness of important nutrition for young, growing minds and bodies. To my huge relief, her level of intense belief surrounding smart food choices paralleled mine. 
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     Even still, when I first shared with her, with hesitation, that we were vegan, I was pleased as she enthusiastically responded that she would adhere to Avie's nutritional needs. Even more, she, too, was relieved to know that we shared similar values and that I would never bring sugar laden snacks, junk or candy into the school. 

     With that said, I give you a simple breakfast recipe that reminds me of Avie's mornings at Montessori. On his school days, I would wake up and prepare his breakfast, which included Bananas with Tahini, Coconut and Cinnamon. He refers to them as "cinnamon bananas." His teacher/school director often commented how wonderfully they smelled. I have even doubled the recipe and had them for breakfast a couple hours before a race or hard run and also as a post-run snack. With that, I give you the simple recipe for one of Avie's favorite breakfasts, Bananas with Tahini, Coconut and Cinnamon. 

Bananas with Tahini, Coconut & Cinnamon

One banana, sliced long down the center to form half-moon shapes
2 tsp tahini
1/2 tsp shredded coconut 
several dashes of cinnamon

*Note - I use organic tahini, coconut, cinnamon and bananas 

Slice one banana down the center to form half moons. Place banana pieces into a small bowl. Top bananas first with tahini, then coconut and finally cinnamon. For Avie, I typically only use half of a banana, because that's what his appetite dictates. Also, I roughly measure the other ingredients with a spoon, but these measurements give you an idea of where to start. Feel free to add more or less of any topping. Enjoy! 

     This is an excellent dish to incorporate another proponent of the Montessori educational philosophy - instilling independence from a very young age by allowing toddlers, and even younger, to perform simple, every day tasks, such as food preparation. 

     First, I give Avie a small, rather dull but sharp enough knife. Allowing him to use such tools shows him that I trust him, boosts his confidence and increases skills with objects requiring concentration and careful handling.

    Of course, I guide his fingers away from the blade if they get too close, but I do so in a calm and nonchalant manner that doesn't startle him or hinder his progress. After he slices the banana onto a small cutting board and places them in a bowl, he scoops a spoon into the tahini jar and tops the bananas with it. Next, he uses another spoon to scoop out some coconut. Finally, his favorite part is to sprinkle on, often heavy doses, of cinnamon. I find that I need to oversee the cinnamon sprinkling more closely than the banana cutting! 
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     Avie loves this dish but rarely finishes an entire bowl. Rather than composting the leftovers, I cover the bowl with a reusable silicon lid and place it in the freezer to use for one of my family's favorite desserts, Banana Soft Serve ice cream, a recipe that I came across in my copy of The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. The original recipe from the cookbook uses just frozen chunks of bananas, but it works very well with the tahini, coconut and cinnamon and gives me something to do with the leftovers. 

     I hope you enjoy the breakfast recipe as well as the ice cream! Please share your feedback if you make either one!