Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes & Level One with Baron Baptiste

Playing Big

Back in action in the Pac Northwest! You may recall my post on ‘Playing Big’ back in February of this year, written when I was in the process of applying for the Level One training with Baron Baptiste in Sedona, Arizona. I decided to take the plunge and apply, trusting that it would be exactly what I needed. And it absolutely was!

Investing my time, money, commitment-- and DOING THE WORK in this training was the best thing I could have done for myself. I, with 149 other passionate yogis spent a week,  16-hour workdays, in the middle of the Sedona desert, excavating every aspect of our lives.

Off The Mat, Into Your Life

We know that our yoga practice extends beyond the mat. We practice rewiring our minds to create more space between stimulus and response, to end negative reactive thought patterns, to approach life from a space of possibility, connectivity, and compassion. These are the things I think of when I talk about taking yoga off your mat and into your life.

For me, this training was about examining how I show up in different areas of my life. Not just how I practice yoga. But how I show up in my relationship with my mom, or my co-workers-- because it’s all the same, really. Tendencies that show up in one area of our lives, will generally show up in multiple areas.

I once had a teacher tell the class, when we were holding Utkatasana (Chair Pose) that the tendency when things get uncomfortable is to react in a certain way, whether that is to get out (straighten your legs, get out of the fire), muscle through forcefully, or maybe something else. My tendency would be to straighten my legs and get the heck outta there. “Where else do you see that show up in your life?”, she asked, “that tendency, that habit, do you see it in other areas of your life?”. Oh you betcha. Like in my relationships, when I have a disagreement with someone, if something at work isn’t going my way, just get out. I would get quiet and reserved, remove myself from the conversation or situation.

The challenge in class, then, is to be with the discomfort. Rather than getting reactive (automatically triggered without control), start getting responsive (choosing how you respond to situations from a clear, calm state). Just be with the discomfort, create space and choose your reaction. Then take this work, and apply it in your life.

Stepping back into life in Washington, the same relationships and work that I was in when I left now feel different. I feel focused in my purpose to teach and alive in my spirit to continue to learn, and with the commitment to DO THE WORK for this to work. This lightened feeling that comes from being up to something bigger in your life is something the Baron refers to as ‘being a YES’. It’s like when you get into a new relationship, or get a new opportunity in your life that excites you. Everything seems a little brighter, you glow, and you absolutely float through life. You start to view things from a place of excitement for the new possibility. In his book Being of Power, Baron says, “When being a yes, you’re someone who is standing positively for what’s happening in your life and for what you want to have happen in your future-- you’re a person who’s up to something bigger. Yes sets the stage for being of power”.

What’s Up Next

I’m teaching my Saturday morning yoga class at the Studio still, based in the Baptiste Power Yoga methodology, which has been phenomenal. New faces walk through the door weekly, saying they know they need yoga, for the stretching, yeah, but for so much more. People are leaving feeling lighter in more than just their bodies, in the hearts, in their minds. These guys are busting through barriers that once confined them, they’re seeing the benefits outside of class. It’s powerful stuff, this yoga.

My next step is to attend Level Two with Baron next year. I’ve also been toying with the idea of a 200-hr teacher training at a beautiful Baptiste Affiliate studio in Seattle. This is a studio that I love to attend class in, and would love to teach in one day. The only thing I feel that’s missing from the process of training right now is a community and yoga studio to regularly practice in. Also on my radar, the Art of Assisting program through the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute, a weekend workshop that dials into assisting classes and adjusting yoga postures. My work is to have the discipline to practice daily (because that’s where I’m learning most-- in experimenting to find what works in my own body), stay committed to my goals and what I want in my life, which is to build powerful partnerships and to connect with people in a way that supports growth.

Breakfast of Champions

Now that you’ve been dosed up with some morning inspiration, let’s fuel that body with some nourishment, in the form of lemon cornmeal pancakes. I made a simple blueberry syrup to serve with these pancakes, by taking fresh blueberries in a saucepan with a splash of water and cinnamon and cooking them down until it thickens into a syrup. Blueberries in the PNW are fabulous right now. Cooking them down brings out their thick, sweet-tart flavor, adding cinnamon further intensifies this. Cornmeal and blueberries are flavors of summer, brightened by fresh lemon juice and zest.

Spelt flour and cornmeal are combined to create a pancake that’s still fluffy, and with a toothsome crunch that cornmeal brings. They’re great topped with fresh ricotta or a traditional full-fat greek yogurt, and drizzled with blueberry syrup or fresh blueberries.

Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes makes 14 3-inch pancakes, serves 3-4 people

cornmeal, lemon zest, blueberries, fresh ricotta

• 1 cup milk
• zest of 1 lemon, + 1 Tbsp juice
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp grape seed oil + extra for cooking
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp raw cane sugar, or honey
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Method

Pre-heat a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat.

Combine milk and lemon juice, set aside to let curdle, creating buttermilk.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, whisk in lemon zest, and buttermilk. continue whisking as you drizzle in oil.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients; spelt flour, cornmeal, raw cane sugar, baking powder, and sea salt.

Add wet ingredients to dry, slowly mixing in until fully combined. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, swirl around to coat the entire bottom. Pour in batter (I used a large spoon, so each pancake was about 2 Tbsp of batter), cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles start to form on the top of the pancakes, then flip and cooke for another 2 minutes. Keep warm in the oven, and repeat with remaining batter. Continue to keep the skillet greased as much as necessary.

Blueberry Syrup

• 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method

As pancakes cook, combine blueberries, water, and cinnamon in a saucepan over high heat. Once water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered  to thicken. As the blueberries cook and break down, they release pectin, which thickens this sauce. This is a low maintenance sauce. You can leave it to reduce as you cook all of the pancakes and it will likely finish at the same time. If it thickens too much for your liking, simply add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, alternately, if you like it thicker, continue to let it cook down.