WHAT'S NEW AT YOGI TIMES

Sophie and I have been struck by how the covers of so many magazines, particularly women’s magazines, look at food as an enemy to be fought rather than a blessing to be embraced. In this issue we explore how to eat consciously and with intention.

• You’ll read about natural super foods that that can enhance your health and happiness.
• In our search for some delectable holiday recipes we came across the wonderful and vivacious, Chef Monika of Hipcooks, a Los Angeles based cooking school. At one point during the photo shoot we were literally running across Chef Monika’s studio from the oven to the table with burning fingers to get these yummy little pumpkin soufflés in front of the camera before they cooled and deflated.
• We had the pleasure of working with fashion photographer, Michael Segal. It was wonderful working with a photographer who has such a great instinct for getting the most out of models and clothes.
• In the San Francisco edition, you’ll read an interview with Rick Tucker, the co-owner and executive chef of Millennium, San Francisco’s premiere vegetarian restaurant.
• In the Los Angeles edition you’ll read our conversation with Ann Gentry, founder of Real Food Daily, a veritable institution among Los Angeles’s health conscious community of food lovers.
• You’ll find a fantastic holiday gift guide full of original ideas for mindful gifts, tips for deepening your yoga practice and reviews of some of the best restaurants, yoga studios and spas in town.
• Finally, last month we started our letters to the editor page entitled “Speak Your Mind.” We are eager to hear from you with your feedback and response to what you find in our pages and in your communities. So don’t be shy. Email your letters to info@yogitimes.com.

ARTICLES SNEAK PEAK
In the Dec/Jan Issue

Eating as Practice
by Romney Steele

Every summer for the past eight years I have made the journey to Tassajara Zen Retreat Center in the mountains between Big Sur and Carmel Valley. I look forward to the peaceful surroundings, the mineral baths, the cool river, and especially the food. It’s not really about the food (though I always enjoy it), but rather the ritual surrounding mealtimes that I love so much-from the ringing of the bell when it is time to enter the dining room to savoring the simple meals prepared with love and intention. It all comes back to the practice. Read more

Sit, Eat, Be Full
by Kimber Simpkins

Not so long ago, I asked my students to think about how they would treat themselves differently if they really believed that they were divine. After class one student gave me her answer, wistfully smiling: “I wouldn’t eat standing up anymore.” We both laughed, with me knowing that I too eat standing up, behind the wheel of my car, while answering email, reading the paper, doing anything but concentrating on the long-anticipated meal in front of me. Read more