Charming Coconut

For thousands of years many cultures have greatly benefitted from the nutritional and medicinal qualities the coconut provides.

The coconut is made up of an edible flesh, or meat, that can be pressed to make oil or mixed with hot water to make milk. It is also made up of delicious hydrating water. Eating or drinking from the coconut can prevent excess fat accumulation in and on the body; replenish electrolytes and potassium after a strenuous workout; prevent viral diseases; and reduce gastric distress.

So what has happened to the coconut’s reputation in the last 60 or so years? It was blacklisted by the nutrition and science communities for accusations of causing heart disease, but is now making a comeback.

Until industrial times, when everything started being overly processed, coconut wasn’t seen as a heart disease bandit. With the age of processing (specifically hydrogenation, which gives food a shelf life) came the chemical imbalance of the elements that make up the coconut.

Coconut that has been hydrogenated (the process of mixing hydrogen with the liquid oil at a very high temperature) is toxic for humans to consume. This process eliminates the essential fatty acids and antioxidants from the coconut oil and turns the healthier saturated fat to killer trans fat.

Hydrogenated coconut oil was being used on theater popcorn, which scientists took to mean that coconut was the culprit of heart disease. What they neglected to tell us was how the process of hydrogenation is the true culprit in causing heart disease, not the coconut itself.

The saturated fat in coconut is made up of lauric acid and medium-length carbon chains from triglycerides. The medium chain fatty acids aid in blocking fat from accumulating in the body, whereas long chain fatty acids that make up the saturated fat found in lard has been known to clog arteries and lead to heart disease. Lauric acid is a fatty acid that has anti-microbial properties; increases cells’ insulin sensitivity, which discourages fat storage; and increases the amount of HDL, or “good” cholesterol.

Lauric acid is quickly metabolized by the body, so it is used as energy instead of stored as fat. According to Kelli Jennings, RD, who recommends using coconut oil in nutrition for athletes, coconut oil is a quick energy source and a recovery aid. “After a hard training, it will simply help you store glycogen better (insulin sensitivity) and serve as an energy source to discourage muscle wasting and fatigue,” she says. Try ingesting a tablespoon around workouts to avoid gastric distress-caused by the “improper digestion of our food”, chronic stress, physical stress, prescription medications, alcohol, etc.

Give coconut a try, in moderation. Here are just a few ways to add it to your day:

• Use the oil as a body moisturizer right before bed. It won’t grease up the sheets and it smells delightful.
• Oil up the pan before sautéing vegetables, or mix a tablespoon of the oil with steamed veggies.
• Spread coconut oil on toast (add some cinnamon!) to refuel after a workout.
• Drink up! Have some coconut water following a workout. It’s full of electrolytes and potassium, which are usually lost during a sweat session.
• Add shredded coconut to trail mix.
• Use coconut milk in place of regular milk in a smoothie recipe. It’s super creamy and delicious!
• Or, just eat the coconut meat by itself.

It is very important to buy virgin or extra virgin coconut oil to reap the benefits that it provides. And there’s no need to fear using coconut oil for cooking; it can only be turned into trans fat during the hydrogenation process, where hydrogen and a very high temperature are used.

Anyway you want it, coconut will be sure to please the palate, soothe dry skin, and provide multiple health benefits.

Resources

http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional-diets/thailand-land-of-coconut

http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

http://www.healthsolutionstechnology.com.au/faq_coconut_oil.htm

http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/coconut-oil-for-energy/

Also, http://www.livestrong.com has a ton of articles on the coconut.

What is your idea of the perfect yoga practice?

The best practice is when I feel tired or stressed and don’t really feel like practicing, but I make myself go to the studio anyway. Just walking in the warm studio makes me feel better. The practice allows me to concentrate on just one thing – yoga. I am always so grateful for yoga and the studio on days like that.

What do you like most about yoga?

I’ve always been physically active with ballet, traditional workouts and outdoor sports. When I first started practicing yoga 7 years ago, I had no idea how much it would benefit my mind, body and spirit. What I love most about yoga is that it truly is a “practice”. You are always practicing, learning and pushing yourself. I love how it feels when a particularly challenging pose all of a sudden becomes available to me. I recently discovered that even though I’ve heard “scissor through to midline” a thousand times, and thought I was doing it, I actually wasn’t. All of a sudden I can get my hips square in Warrior I and can feel my practice deepening with this one nuance. Something so simple, yet so powerful. Thanks Reegan!

What pose or practice do you do daily?

I say prayers of gratitude daily and practice breathing slowly and deeply throughout the day. I practice Headstand almost every morning before work. It clears my head for the day.

Keely’s Stuff

• Savasana Song- the Om Chant. I love his deep, moving voice
• Yoga Pants- Zella from Nordstrom
• Sports Bra- Champion
• Yoga Mat- Manduka Black Pro- it truly changed my practice
• Yoga Towel- Manduka
• Color- Purple
• Flower- Anything tropical, particularly orchids and bird of paradise
• Vegetable- All colors of bell peppers
• Fruit- Papayas and mangos

Quote Of The Month

To achieve the state of concentration is quite a challenge. We all have experienced the procrastination that comes with not being 100% interested on a task or challenge. For example, say you have a big test and need to study for it. You seem to find anything and everything else that “needs” to be done instead of studying for that important test. On the contrary, if you are studying for a big test in a subject that fascinates you, the concentration to study the information comes with ease. We taste this in our physical yoga practice as well. Through our Asana (Sanskrit for seat or posture) practice we exhaust the physical body so we can still the mind to achieve one point of concentration.

Many times new students ask me if there are easier classes they should take. Most new yoga students continually think throughout their practice. They actually need the physical challenge to be so challenging that their minds stay focused on what is being taught rather than what they are going to make for dinner that night. At yoga80 we encourage students to take breaks and emphasize concentration on the breath. The breath is the trick. Focusing on breathing will allow you to be in the present – right here and right now. When you find your breath to be labored, then take a break and connect back with your breathing, in your yoga practice or even in your daily life.

We’ve all heard that great advice when we’re in a panic, “Take a deep breath”. Your one point of concentration counts on it.

The BIG Breathe will take place on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at the Mission Towers of the famed Del Mar Racetracks, from 6 am to 6 pm.

The BIG Breathe will feature eight local San Diego yoga studios and instructors, each conducting an hour-long session, starting at 6 am and ending at 6 pm. Participants will register for the event at various donation levels that will give them corresponding access to the event with in-and-out privileges all day. Classes will be held in the spacious Mission Tower ballroom, accomodating up to 300 participants each hour. Classes will be themed to encourage repeat participation throughout the 12-hour day. Participants will also enjoy a marketplace, a relaxation lounge, and complimentary refreshments. Lectures are also planned for, given by local health leaders and experts.

Check out http://thebigbreathe.com/ for more information.

What is your idea of the perfect yoga practice?

Starting out in child’s pose, working my way into A sequence three times, followed by B sequence a few times. Then I like to work on some of the different standing poses before going into inversions (headstands and handstands are my favorite). Lastly, savasana for at least five minutes…it’s a great way to end practice.

What do you like most about yoga?

How flexible I’ve become, how much it’s strengthened my body (especially my legs), how it allows me to relax and not think about the outside world for the hour, and how refreshed I feel after class.

What pose or practice do you do daily?

Lately it’s been forearm stand. I have a harder time with this pose than I do with headstands and handstands, so I’m slowly but surely trying to get this one down.

Jenn’s Stuff

• Savasana Song- The Offering Chant
• Yoga Pants- Every pair I’ve purchased from Pink Zone in Pacific Beach.
• Sports Bra- Hanes
• Yoga Mat- A thin, blue Gaiam mat.
• Yoga Towel- I use a regular workout towel
• Color- Pink
• Flower- Pink daisies
• Vegetable- Artichokes
• Fruit- Avocado (and yes, it’s a fruit). :)

Quote Of The Month

This reminds me of the struggle some new practitioners have getting to their first yoga class. I often tell new students, “95% of it is just getting to the studio”. There are lots of excuses we create not to show up for a class.

Many times it turns out to be an injury or medical professional that gets you to the first class, but it does not have to be this way.

Finally, after taking a class, you are happy. At first, it may be hard to keep up and you have to take breaks throughout the class. As time goes by though, you observe what a great feeling of wellness yoga creates, which your body and mind want more of.

Before you know it, you are able to practice yoga poses you never thought possible. Then one day you realize the struggle to create discipline and self-control in your life was really quite easy.

Join yoga80 and owner Reegan Lessie for a special Personal Practice 4 Week Course to help students deepen their practice and learn techniques to develop a personal practice outside the studio.

Course Agenda

Sessions will begin with chanting “Om” three times and reciting the mantra for purification and end with chanting “Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shantih”.

During each 2 hour session Reegan will lead students through a yoga practice, discussion, focus poses, and other exercises including:

• The basics and fine art of Surya Namaskara A & B
• Deep relaxation meditation
• Focus poses students select to work on during the course
• Inversions
• Breathing exercises
• Chanting and mantra for purification
• Homework and journaling about your body, movement and yoga
• Vegetarian Tuesdays *

Course Pricing & Registration

Registration

Register at the yoga80 front desk or contact Robert Pastor at rob@yoga80.com (760-710-7360) by April 6, 2012.

Additional Information

Please contact Reegan at reegan@yoga80.com (858-353-7703) for additional information and to answer any questions you may have.

Celebration!

Reegan will cater a vegan party on Sunday, May 20 from 5:00-7:00 pm, to close the course and celebrate what you’ve learned.

*Committing to a vegetarian diet on Tuesdays during the course is encouraged