BA L A N C I N G W I T H C HE F A L L I S O N By Michelle D. Williams
W
e all know that eating and yoga don’t really mix. It can be tricky to time meals at least two hours before class or home practice. And preparing a nice, healthy meal can take up a lot
“Food to me is not just fuel. Cooking is an act of love—it’s nurturing, it’s creativity. And yoga is similarly all of those things…”
of time—certainly longer than ordering takeout or grabbing something ready-made. If you’re working full time, taking
moment, it can be sort of magical. I’m just in the pose, and I’m
care of a family, enjoying hobbies, and spending time with
not struggling with it.”
friends, it’s difficult to find time to actually cook. But the food we eat is so critical to how we feel overall, and what we
Bader says cooking is the same. “There are so many things I
eat can drastically affect our yoga practice.
love about cooking. I love the mundane—all the chopping of vegetables and other prep work. I love it because those tasks
For Allison Bader, who has been a professional chef for 25 years
make it easy for me—for my mind—to just be there with the
and practicing Iyengar Yoga for more than a dozen, cooking,
product that I’m working with. I’m not thinking about my kids
eating, and yoga are all part of the same practice. “Good food—
and what they’re doing, and I’m not thinking about what I’m
healthy food—is a passion of mine,” Bader says. “And I’m
going to make for dinner at home. I just let go of the points and
passionate about my yoga practice too. In fact, I find a lot of
I’m there. And that for me is where yoga and cooking really
similarities between yoga and cooking.”
kind of merge.”
When she first started taking Iyengar Yoga classes, in her mid-
Lost in Asparagus
40s, it was a way for her to build strength and stay flexible.
Life in the food industry can be crazy—and seemingly not very
Bader is also an avid tennis player and skier so wanted
balanced. Shifts can be long, and depending on your focus,
something to balance out the active, physical side of those
you’re either getting up at 3 a.m. to bake or you’re getting home
sports. But she was immediately drawn into the philosophy of
at 3 a.m. after a long night followed by post-shift hanging out.
yoga and the “just being” of it. Back when she lived in Boston, Bader worked as a pastry chef at “In my classes with Julie Lawrence, we’ll be working hard,
a small but very busy restaurant. She’d go in really early and
putting a lot of effort into a particular pose and holding it,”
make all of the pastries and then all of the pasta for the day.
Bader says. “Then right at the point when I say to myself, ‘Oh,
Then she’d start the stocks and some of the other prep.
my god. Can I just get out of this?’ She’ll say, ‘Okay, now let go
Gradually as the day went on, more staff would roll in and
of the points and just be in the pose.’ When I get to this
things would get busier and busier. By lunchtime, it was
Spring/Summer 2014 Yoga Samachar
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