Last month, I attended City Arts & Lectures’ program “On Artisan Food,” a conversation with Chad Robertson of San Francisco’s legendary Tartine Bakery and Bar Tartine, and Sue Conely, co-founder of Cowgirl Creamery.

Bread and cheese is what they talked about all night long.

From failures to favorite moments, the two discussed many topics, but converged on one commonality: an insatiable and obsessive dedication to their craft. According to Chad, “it takes an obsessive personality to do this type of thing.”

It’s no secret that Chad is considered one of the best bread bakers in the U.S. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, his love for bread started by mistake: a rejection from architecture school. After over two decades of apprenticeship in France and the U.S., Chad is our local star in his own right. He’s easy-going, elemental and brings a groundedness spirit to the craft of artisan bread.

“Making bread is a ground experience. Because every day you start fresh. You have a full cycle of mixing the dough, letting it rise overnight and baking it and starting again. You come full circle every day.”

He most recently launched his 2nd cookbook: Tartine Bread, in which he explains how it all works. And for the 1st time, the recipe to his crusty masterpiece and signature Basic Country Bread is released. It’s no joke. The recipe is 29 pages. Written more like a narrative, the recipe is like reading an autobiography. Of bread.

For those who may not have the stomach to tackle the at-home recipe, you can always stand in line at 5pm every day for the chance to get 1 of the 175 loaves baked daily. However, it sells out within an hour. So according to Chad, he recommends going during the weekday, where your chances of scoring the city’s most prized bread will be in your favor.

What’s next for Tartine? “We’re fermenting – vegetables. That’s what’s next.”

To the beloved crafts we all hold,
Sofia

Next week approximately 141 million Valentine’s Day cards will be exchanged in honor of St. Valentine’s Day. After Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the 2nd most popular card-sending holiday, with 85% of all valentines purchased by women.

No doubt do I love a beautiful, handmade valentine. But given all the pomp and circumstance of Feb 14th, do we really know why and what we are honoring?

There are plenty of legends surrounding the origins of the holiday. Most stories point to the patron saint, St. Valentine, who was a priest in 3rd century Rome, and his heroic, sympathetic and romantic efforts.

According to one legend, Valentine defied Emperor Claudius II’s outlaw on marriage. Claudius believed that single men made better soldiers than those with families or wives. Realizing the injustice, Valentine continued to perform marriages despite the Emperor’s wishes until he was imprisoned for his actions and sentenced to death.

While in prison it’s believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, where he signed “From your Valentine,” the expression that is still used today.

It is from this that we celebrate Feb 14th (a date marks the death or burial of St. Valentine) as a day where chocolates, roses and valentine cards flow in overabundance. We place pressure on relationship statuses, whether or not dates are to be had and cause unnecessary pressure and guilt on ourselves. All this for a man who stood up for his beliefs.

We’ve migrated far from Valentine and his heroic feats. For this year, maybe instead of getting caught up in the hubbub of the day, consider Valentine himself. Take a moment to acknowledge the heroes in your life: mom, teacher, mentor, or best friend.

Send a note of gratitude– and write, “From your Valentine with love.” And don’t just do it on the 14th, do it spontaneously. There is life after February 14th.

With love,
Sofia

2. You attended Jason Crandell’s all-day intensive on Technique and Precision. What are some common mis-alignments that you most often see?
I don’t like to use that word because I think “mis-alignment” implies that something is being done wrong. To me, the beauty of yoga is that there really is no right or wrong. There are many ways to practice, though sometimes I see students try to push themselves beyond their ability level or sacrifice one part of their body to stretch, strengthen or expand another part of their body. I encourage mindfulness and part of being mindful is being present to what is – not pushing beyond.

3. What do you find most inspirational about Jason’s practice? What can we learn from him?
Jason teaches us how technique can be a useful tool, but he isn’t dogmatic or rigid about the alignment of postures. He encourages us to hold the postures as a means to being present and to understanding the body rather than the means to an end. And he reminds us that the ultimate purpose of yoga is to still the mind.

4. For those who didn’t get a chance to attend the conference, what other yoga resources would you recommend to yogis who want to get inspired and evolve their practices?
There are so many! Some of my favorite books are: The Heart of Yoga by TKV Desikachar, The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks, The Gift by Hafiz (translated by Daniel Ladinsky), Light on Life and Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar, and anything by Eckhart Tolle, Robert Thurman or Pema Chodron.

5. What do you find most rewarding about being a yoga instructor and IO Yoga Manager?
This practice has been life changing for me. Yoga teaches us that avidya, ignorance of our true self and our place in the world, is the main cause of suffering. If I can help to lessen pain even the smallest amount for a relatively small group of people, it’s a blessing. I am so honored that people place their trust in me to help guide them in their practice.
As the new yoga manager, I am enjoying meeting and hiring talented teachers and cultivating our community at IO, which is truly a sanctuary for so many wonderful people.

6. Any other insights you wish to share?
Practice, practice, practice! Take deep breaths, and be nice to yourself.

Over New Years I did a Kirtan Camp, of sorts, with Gaura Vani in Costa Rica. It was the cleanest and clearest celebrating of a new year maybe ever for me as we joined another kirtan group with Jai Uttal to sing in and ring in 2010. Connecting one voice with the voices of others, makes one singular powerful, uplifting, freeing common voice. The feeling attached can be rapturous even though it may sound hard to believe.

I encourage anyone looking to feel inspired to try singing a little (or a lot) but not in the interest of performance. Try a kirtan sometime and let loose to the power that is evoked when sacred mantra is sung. Kirtan is popping up more and more all over the Bay Area and in many cities around the globe. Gaura Vani and Jai Uttal and David Stringer are all great fun to sing with.

This weekend I will be singing kirtan with Sean Johnson from New Orleans at Laughing Lotus. Join me if you are interested. And you don’t have to ever have tried sometime like this to enjoy it. There’s a certain mysterious resonance to it all, especially if you suspend your disbelief.

And if nothing else, it sure feels good to use your voice and SING YOUR HEART OUT.

Get together and sing,
Amy

Project Ahimsa is an exciting nonprofit that I could not be more proud to spread the word about. It’s a “global effort to empower youth through music”. Employing the cute catchphrase “slumdog musicaires”, they raise money to give grants to music programs that serve kids in needy countries around the world, such as Uganda, Columbia, India… and even right here in San Francisco.

So far, they’ve created 70 grants in 14 countries and helped countless kids who otherwise might not have a chance to express their creative talents. Their benefit concerts (which raise awareness for their grants) feature big-name performers like Michael Franti and The Black Eyed Peas.

Project Ahimsa just put out a CD called Global Lingo. It’s a musical amalgamation of the voices of the kids around the world and the performers who have inspired and supported them. The proceeds from the CD go right back into the project.

You can sample the music, see a video, buy the album, or make a donation here.

My good friend Vijay Chattha, who started this organization, says: “Music can heal and connect communities. We all just need to understand one another. Global Lingo proves it can happen through music.”

That’s what I’m talking about.

Oh and guess what? The music is amazing!

Easy listening,
Amy

May Anne Wright, known to her East Bay community as Mother Wright, was just an ordinary woman who was inspired by a lucid dream in 1980 to help the world’s hungry.

She started small, using her $236 social security check to buy weekly meals for the homeless at a local Oakland park. They called her “The Mother Theresa of Oakland”.

Mother Wright’s own life had been a difficult one. She grew up poor in the South and lost her mother at a young age. She was forced to escape an abusive husband as a young adult and fled cross country.

Where she ended up was far from “home” and among strangers, making ends meet as a low-paid manual laborer.

But Mother Wright had a knack for creating community wherever she went. Besides her own twelve children, the poor people of the East Bay soon started to look at her as a sort of mom.

Not just interested in providing food and shelter, Mother Wright thought it equally important to provide the homeless with dignity, and insisted on serving meals in style, with tablecloths and proper place settings. She didn’t just take pity on her subjects; she offered them respect. And that made all the difference.

Mother Wright considered feeding the hungry her calling and made it her life’s work. Hers is an inspiring story of vision, tenacity and self-sacrifice.

By the end of her life, Mother Wright’s benevolent reach had extended to all corners of the world. Through the last three decades of her life that she performed this miraculous work, she consistently refused to accept any pay for her efforts.

Mother Wright passed away recently at the age of 87 and left a legacy behind. If you’re as moved by her story as I am, consider contributing to The Mary Wright Foundation, which will continue to help the homeless long after she is gone.

Her devotion to the people of Oakland is her lasting legacy, and she won’t quickly be forgotten.

I believe heroes like Mother Wright exist as examples to us all. Like Gandhi and all great peaceful leaders, her life’s work was not just about making a difference as an individual, but showing the world that absolutely anyone can make a difference.

That includes you and me.

What’s your cause?
Amy

I don’t mean to discount the possible gravity of situations like this. Swine flu is a real thing and it’s affecting a lot of people. It basically shut down Mexico City and spread to the Bay Area.

We also know that the C.D.C. deemed the H1N1 flu, nicknamed “swine flu”, a possible pandemic with a similar M.O. as the Spanish flu of 1918 that paradoxically prayed on the immune healthy instead of the immune weak (infants/elderly).

In the case of the Spanish flu, it started as a milder flu that popped up in the springtime and then came back with a deadly vengeance later that fall.

But what I find really frightening at this stage in the game is the global media’s participation in promoting global crisis. We often walk a fine-line between promoting awareness and inciting fear.

Awareness is noticing what actually is. Fear, according to dictionary.com, is “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.”

We humans like a good story. And we have been known to, on more than rare occasion, jump to conclusions and exaggerate. Hence, the rampant addiction to gossip magazines and getting into other people’s “business”.

Maybe it’s just that we like to have something to talk about, something “important”, something that at least feels like it connects us? Maybe it’s an easy way to make us feel more invigorated, more alive (even when the subject is about possible death)?

How about some good examples?

A friend of mine had the sniffles. I saw the fear in her eyes as friends warned her she may be experiencing the first stages of a deadly virus. Another friend was invited to a party that was cancelled because the host didn’t want to bring “strangers” into her home.

Suddenly her friends are strangers? That’s odd.

Fear sells, and when we let fear lead, we lose sight of the reality that most of us will not be touched by swine flu. Or if we are, in some hellish scenario, then fear doesn’t help anyway.

You can protect yourself. Wash your hands. Protect your bodily system with anti-viral remedies like olive leaf, elderberry or oscillococcinum, a proven homeopathic flu fighter.

Consult a doctor if you have the flu. But largely this is yet another reminder to take extra care of yourself. To me that seems the big lesson so far (that and, don’t overreact).

Do yourself a favor, don’t let your fear get the best of you. It’s not healthy. I believe it is important to be aware. And in the case of pandemics, they have been a reality in history, but remember it’s just not at all clear that this is another one.

I love the classic Franklin Roosevelt line and it seems apropos here: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

And in any case, since laughter is the best medicine, do yourself a favor and check out this silly video.

Tame your fear,
Amy

For those of you that ignore the news (not always a bad thing), here’s what happened: Sandra Cantu left her home on the afternoon of March 27th to play in the neighborhood – a very sheltered, tight-knit mobile home community where everyone knows everyone. She never came back. Last week, farm workers found her body in a suitcase floating in a nearby irrigation pond. And Saturday, they arrested Melissa Huckaby, a young mom to one of Sandra’s playmates and a Sunday School teacher and daughter of the local minister.

It’s jumping the gun a little bit to assume that Melissa Huckaby is guilty of murder. But certainly, the press and local police are indicating that there was a confession. Prompting the greater community to wonder, WHY?

It’s a terrible story without a lot of redemptive elements. But for me, there has got to be a lesson here somewhere. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and what I’ve come up with is this:

Never, ever assume that you know what happened based on stereotypes or history. During the seemingly endless stretch during which Sandra was missing and then found murdered, I think most of us unfortunately assumed that a pedophile – a male pedophile – must have been involved. It’s a morbid fact that our minds do go right to that place, based on countless media stories and past events.

An excerpt from today’s news story: “Sandra’s father was questioned, as was a neighbor with a criminal past. They also questioned Huckaby’s 77-year-old grandfather, a church pastor. Then there was the man who admitted that he once kissed Sandra on the lips at the neighborhood swimming pool.” Up until the moment that Melissa Huckaby was arrested, we were all calling the perpetrator “he”, and using our fear and confusion to make up possible endings in our own minds.

The fact is, something horrifying happened to Sandra Cantu, but we don’t know (and may never know) exactly what, why and how. In the meantime, I’ll consider this a lesson in not jumping to conclusions. Just because the guy across the street looks kind of creepy, does not mean that he’s a potential killer. And just because my neighbor is a Sunday School Teacher, does not mean she’s an angel.

Ugh,
Amy

Recently back from a year traveling the world exploring yoga, Ayurveda and one another, Caro and Vinnie will bring the intimate act of eating into alignment with the beloved practice of yoga through these beautiful, age-old wellness tools:

1. Asana & self-acupressure for digestion
2. Ayurvedic theory of food combining & doshas
3. Sanskrit food blessings & meditations

Yoga and her sister science, Ayurveda, offer a great deal of wisdom regarding our relationship to food. What, when, how, and most importantly, why we eat are all valuable questions. In this mini-retreat, these two offer up their seasoned expertise in the realms of vegetarian cooking, yoga and Eastern holistic medicine to infuse your meals with yogic ritual and creativity.

All levels welcome. Workshop cost is $40 per individual.
Please call (415) 563-5000 ×1 or see the front desk to pre-register for IO Workshops.

Need I say more?

A happy belly is a happy being,
Amy