Baking and Yoga the Great Link

I have two great passions in life that keep me sane, keep peace in my heart and make me want to jump out of bed each morning and live my life…..baking and yoga. To some they seem contrary to each other but to me they feed the soul in much the same way. Both are lifetime practices, they are never ending, you learn and practice them forever but still they never become perfect. Both have moments in which you fall, get back up, brush yourself off and try again. Both require a tremendous amount of discipline and patience. You cannot expect yourself to do handstand on your first attempt or get your heals to touch the ground in downward facing dog, just like you can’t expect your first cake to stand straight or your first bread loaf to come out of the pan clean.

Both are huge stress relievers. Many bakers bake when they have high anxiety and need to take their mind off something and it’s the same with getting to your mat. I love the ease I feel when watching my ingredients combine and swirl in my mixer just as I love the ease that comes when transitioning from warrior 2 to triangle.

Baking and yoga are both an art that are dependent on the circumstances. Baking depends on how juicy your fruit is, how much humidity is in the air, how temperamental the oven is that you are using. With yoga your poses and your endurance depends on how hydrated you are, what you ate recently, how close you are to your menstrual cycle. Both practices are different each day and need to be a approached with an “in the moment grace”

Yoga and baking build strength, confidence, discipline and attention to detail. Both you do with a lot of faith. They’re about about living your life, learning from life, embracing the unknown and adjusting to the things that get thrown your way. So embrace the balance, bake something beautiful and delicious and then be courageous and head to a yoga class. Most of all enjoy your life and find the passions that make you jump out of bed excited for life. As Bridget Lancaster of Cooks Country says “Some people have yoga, I frost cakes!” I have both!

Check out my home baking business on Facebook at Mama Bears Baked Goods and on Instagram @mamabearsbakedgoodsco