This Saturday, August 26, at 6:30 p.m. my husband Rich and I will be holding a special restorative and vinyasa night at Urban Yoga in Fort Worth, Texas. This is our 4th combination of live music and yoga, and this one, by far, is the one I am most excited about.
If you read this blog you know where we’ve been these last 15 months – you know the pain and hardship and terror, a little bit. You at least know, our lives fell apart. And you at least know, I’m writing from a heart that is different – a heart that has been broken and torn apart, and is being pieced back together again. The last 15 months were by far the absolute worst of my life, and this doesn’t even remotely compare to what Rich has gone through.
And you know, I think at least, that we’re piecing everything together – bit by bit – with the only things we truly associate ourselves with – with the only things that bring us ultimate peace – music, and yoga.
We tried alcohol, and we tried food, and we tried therapists, and we tried every book you can possibly find on grief and suicide and loss and trauma. And all of those helped, at least somewhat. But what has been the true savior has been our yoga practice, and music.
Recently we rewatched ‘Finding Joe’, a documentary about Joseph Campbell. It occurred to both of us that we have been on a variation of the Hero’s Journey through the pain and growth of the last 15 months.
And so, we’ve had the Hero’s Journey on our minds – Rich has been researching and writing and designing music that has helped him heal in his own way – which has led to him realizing he’s on his own hero’s journey – his desire to help those who have suffered the types of deep trauma that he has in life. It’s his story to tell, not mine, so I will leave it at that. But I’m here, walking side by side with him, in the darkness and the light.
Our Event at Urban Yoga this Saturday night is the journey of darkness to light, of sorrow to healing, of the ability to depend on music for that which it does best: provide escape, love, and companionship; letting us know fully that there’s something bigger than ourselves out in this magical world. It’s an hour and a half of all-original music written by Rich specifically for the marimba and for this class. I’ll be leading you on a restorative and then vinyasa yoga flow, ending with complete restorative poses. I can’t wait.
The marimba is an incredibly deep and vibrational instrument, so much so that you can feel its notes in your bones…especially on wood floors, and especially on old wood floors that creak, just like the ones at Urban Yoga, in its historic building from the early 1900s. It does not get any better than that. To feel this instrument while practicing yoga – to feel it vibrating from the wood floor all through your body…words don’t describe how incredible and all-consuming that is.
I hope you join us. We have space left, and would love to share this experience with you. Registration is at UrbanYogaFW.com/Workshops
And now, for my Magnificent Mushroom Enchiladas. These are my favorite, of all time, of any enchilada I have ever eaten. Please give them a try, and let me know what you think!
Love, Jen.
Marimba and Magnificent Mushroom Enchiladas
Ingredients
Cashew Sauce
- 1 c. cashews, soaked
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 jalapeno, seeded
- 1/2 c. water
Enchiladas
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 12 corn tortillas
- fresh cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Soak the cashews for at least 1 hour in a bowl of water. Or boil water, cover and then soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the cashews, and place in a high powered blender or Vitamix with the remaining sauce ingredients. Blend for at least a minute or until creamy, and set aside.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large frying pan, cook the onion and garlic on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, chili powder, cumin and salt, and cook a remaining 10 minutes, until all veggies are soft.
- Remove the mushroom mixture from heat, and stir in 1/2 of the cashew sauce.
- Heat the tortillas over medium heat, and spoon the mushroom mixture inside each tortilla. Roll up each tortilla and place in a baking dish.
- Spoon the remaining cashew sauce over each tortilla. Bake the enchiladas, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, until edges of tortillas turn golden brown.
- Top with fresh cilantro, if desired, and serve immediately.