In the past, I've tried describing Teacher Training as Life Training (as many past students have called it). I make the language as welcoming and permissive as I can to those who don't want to teach. This program is for everyone.

But why should they have to pay the same amount and have the same intensive homework and requirements? I created a yearlong program (The Daily Craft) with the intention of giving a similar opportunity to non-teachers. But nothing is like the 5-month immersion of TT.

"Monster Cookies" generally have a bunch of goodies in them with a base of a nut butter and oatmeal. According to a quick google search, they are "the Frankenstein's monster of the cookie world - a mashup of different components."

What I love about these -- besides the super moist texture and perfectly balanced flavor -- is how simple they are to make. Even for the "non-bakers," this one is doable.

Many of us consider every day to be "earth day." Still, it's good to have an even brighter spotlight on ways we can improve. It's easy to get down about the state of the environment, so I go back to a trusty mantra and tell myself again and again, What You Do Matters. It's all a drop in the bucket. And if we all believe that and do even a little bit, together it makes a difference. In that spirit, here are 7 ideas for Earth Month.

It's not a pesto, it's not a chimichurri, it's a magic sauce perfectly suited for spring.

Make it and put it on everything. Roasted veggies, toast, pasta, burritos or tacos, a veggie burger -- I mean, anything.

No need to be super precise in measuring...personalize it according to your flavor preferences.

It's like we're all a little bit in the closet about poetry, but once we know we're in safe company of fellow lovers, we can pull the tattered paper out of our wallets and compare notes (I carry a few hand-written lines of Rumi, gifted long ago by a friend).

Poetry is delicious medicine that has helped me make sense of life since high school. I have many old poetry collections published by Hallmark that were my grandmother's, one of which is in the Favorite Four below.

What is this? is not a question in search of an answer. It is intended to help us penetrate the mystery more deeply so that it becomes more mysterious. Where every situation and experience becomes truly surprising. A place outside of our habitual views and conditioned responses.

After selling It's All Yoga last year, I realized that if I were to open a studio now (which I'm not and don't have plans to ever:), I would name it It's Just Yoga.

Not that the practice isn't a serious endeavor. Not that our practice doesn't sometimes feel like life or death. Not that practice doesn't make a huge difference in our lives.

I used a butternut pasta that I got for Christmas. I had baby bellas and shiitake mushrooms, but any work. The sun dried tomatoes gave it a little sweetness. Walnuts and nutritional yeast pack in the nutrients. Of course a few cloves of garlic while sautéing the onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Greg likes things spicy, so he added chili pepper flakes to his.

It has come to my attention that not everyone scrapes their tongue first thing in the morning.

And that they might be interested in learning about such things.

So for you curious, voyeur-types, here are the three things I do every single morning. BONUS that you actually get a video of all of these things at the end.

I've tried everything under the sun. Tinctures, herbs, OTC sleeping aids, pharmaceutical drugs, natural remedies, eating certain things, not eating other things, all kinds of body practices...and some of it worked for a while, but not consistently.

I felt totally helpless and hopeless upon going to bed -- will this be a good night's sleep or not? The question itself creates an anxiety loop that makes sleep less and less likely.

This was the clever title of an article in the SF Chronicle this past Sunday. Molly de Vries, from Mill Valley, is a self-described "passionate advocate for living a (nearly) non-disposable life." Though she refreshingly admits, "I'm not a minimalist. I'm even a bit of a hoarder."

As someone who strives -- and often fails -- to refuse single-use items like cups, straws, and napkins, instead of using ones I've brought with me, this article caught my attention.

Around the holidays I got into the habit of baking for the folks in my Sunday morning class. It was so fun for me (and they seemed to love it) that I've continued to do it, experimenting with recipes and "wowing" people who thought vegan treats all tasted like cardboard.

After almost two years of not getting a cold, last week I had one. But it was mild and short and I fully believe all my "woo woo" oils and herbs and "face rubbing" (as my guy says) made the difference.

After sharing pieces of what I do to keep immunity high, I thought I'd just give you the whole low-down. So here it is.

Most of us do not have a steam room or sauna, and even if you have one at your gym, it's not always practical to do. If only there was a way to spare your hairdo from the sweatfest. Oh wait, there is! It's the mini personal steam. This doesn't mean you have to hunch over a pot of water on the stove. Just pour some steaming water in a mug, drape a kitchen towel over your head and breathe slowly in and out through your nose for a few minutes.

A few years ago there were different versions of a popular post going around called Why Your Smoothie is Making You Fat.

The articles all talked about how smoothies are generally larger than we plan, more calories than we know, full of sugar, and digest quickly, leaving us hungry.

Those are all good considerations about your smoothie. But I'm talking about ditching the smoothie for another reason.

Like many people, at the end of every year, I do a general review of how things have gone the past 12 months and some dreaming and scheming for the coming seasons.

This has been especially helpful in business -- assessing what programs and events were well received, which did not go over so hot and what new things I want to create.

Like many of you, I like to choose a word of the year. Something to use as a filter for decisions, a guiding idea, a reminder. I choose a word that brings a felt-sense of something I want more of in my life.

2018 seems to be a multi-word year, warranting the power of a full-on phrase.

If you love ginger, gingerbread, molasses, or if you are vegan, these cookies will be your dream come true.

I'd never made gingerbread cookies before, but every year a girlfriend and I have a standing holiday cookie-making date (truth be told, we mostly drink mimosas), and this year I was determined to find delicious vegan recipes.

If you think about winter in elemental or weather terms, our climate here has been cold and dry. Hopefully, we're are headed into some wetter months ahead, which will change how we ideally care for the physical body and our overall health.

There's a system of health and healing out of the Indian/Tibetan lineage and related to Yoga called Ayurveda. Ayurveda in Sanskrit translates to “Science of Longevity” or “Knowledge of Life.”

Mark's most popular book, The Book of Awakening, was recommended by a friend many years ago and has since become my constant companion and my go-to gift to loved ones. It's a daily reader that will have different meanings each year. You can read it every day, put it down and come back months later or pick it up randomly and it will offer exactly what you need that moment.