Katie Goes To The Kitchen & Nia Class

Hi. I love you. Have a raw vegan raspberry cheesecake as a sign of my affection!



So, um, this is pretty good. And when I say pretty good, I mean stamp-your-feet-raise-your-hands-to-the-heavens-let-out-a-whoop good. The manfriend had a pretty rough day so I put a raspberry heart on it to cheer him up! I really liked the texture of the crust. It was moist and a bit crunchy and held together great with the medjool dates. The filling was tangy and sweet and had a fantastic texture, even with my not-so-great blender. It's a really fast recipe to whip up so if you're thinking about giving it a try... do.

Things I'd change next time I make the recipe... well, next time I'll remember to actually buy a pie tray so I don't have to make it in the plastic container the medjool dates came in. I'll check my crust & filling levels on the side so they end up more even. And I'll try a new flavor in there! I'm thinking blueberries, since I still have them left over from the co-op share.

So, the cheesecake was last night's endeavor. Tonight's was to go to a Nia class at Move Studio with the fabulous Jule Aguirre! The routine we dove into tonight was based on the music of Moulin Rouge and had a lot of creative expression and varying rhythms. I love how easy it is to get lost in Nia classes. The hour goes by so fast, almost before I realize I'm exercising. But by the time I leave, I'm covered in sweat, my heart is open, and my body is buzzing with electric energy. I smiled the entire ride home.

I'm finding a lot of inspiration in these classes, too. The more I dance, the more ideas I get for choreography for "Grieve." I find this happens a lot on the car rides to and from my classes. I'll be driving and images will flutter to the surface of my consciousness. I'm able to feel the rhythm of the dance over the rhythm of the music. In the over three years I recently took off from dancing, that ability to feel the rhythm of a dance never went away. While I was avoiding dance and neglecting my body, it was almost painful to feel all these dances that I never expressed. This project is so great for me, not just physically but emotionally as well. It is releasing so much that I've held onto for too long. Push, pull, stretch, twist, hold, release. (If you didn't read that in terse choreographer tone, you did it wrong.)

And we haven't even started rehearsals yet! When I get to share this feeling with the incredible people I'm lucky enough to work with, the joy multiplies infinitely. Can you tell I'm a little excited?

Katie Goes To Say Hello

The first blog post is always a bit awkward, like a first date. Will I say the right things? Will you like me? Will we see each other again or will I walk away shaking my head and thinking, "Well, that was a bad idea"? Let's hope not. Hi! I'm Katie.

You may know me from the wildly popular Katie's Yoga Blog, where I first started documenting my attempt to get in shape through a yoga practice. Since the new year, my life has changed in a lot of ways and I have found myself with lots to talk about that doesn't necessarily revolve just around yoga. So here's my place to regale the internet with various tales of the classes I'm taking, the recipes I'm baking, the crafts I'm making, and the rhymes I'm forcing.

Right now, I'm working on a performance piece that requires me to dance quite a bit. I'm choreographing roughly 13 pieces and directing various acting bits. It's going to be a ton of work and a total blast. I haven't done any choreography since living in Texas and it is really helping me move a lot of old, bad energy out of my body. It never ceases to amaze me how much power there is in moving the body. A great choreography session or rehearsal can make my whole week.

I still go to yoga, albeit not as much as I had been in the height of my yoga fervor, and not exactly recently. I'm working on keeping a consistent practice, at least three times a week, to keep regular but allow myself the freedom to do other workouts as well. I've had a hard time keeping up with yoga since I took my break when my dad passed and I miss it a lot. This week, I will be returning and you will have to hear about it.

Allowing myself this freedom has opened the doors to a Nia practice! I've taken two classes this week and I'm pretty hooked. Nia is a movement practice that combines elements of dance, martial arts, yoga, and a couple other movement styles to create a great cardio workout as well as a moving meditation practice. I had so much fun in the two classes I took that I can't wait to get back.

Oh, and I'm going to try a recipe for a raw cashew cheesecake this week. I don't even like cheesecake but it looks so gooooood.

And now? Katie goes to bed.