As soon as I boarded my flight to London Heathrow, my Indian food cravings kicked in. London’s Indian food is the next best thing to India, I’ve been told, so I was excited to find out.
By the time I landed, cleared UK border control, checked in to my hotel, gained an understanding of my location in the city center, freshened up, and bought theatre tickets for the next night, it was almost 4:00 p.m. London time. Because of the time difference, I was ready for breakfast, but the rest of London was digesting a big, late Sunday brunch, eating an ice cream cone in one of the lush, spring blossomed-filled parks, or having a late afternoon pint on a small table outside a public house. Luckily after a short stroll through Hyde Park, I stumbled upon Memories of India.
There were no patrons at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, but the menu looked good and prices seemed reasonable. Plus it was happy hour from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. which meant 25% off meals and two for one drinks. I ordered myself a pint of Kingfisher (a typical Indian beer) and vegetable samosa appetizer while perusing the menu.
Samosas are one of my most favorite foods, so it’s an appetizer I order almost every time I go to an Indian restaurant. The samosas at Memories of India were different than any I had ever eaten in New York, Minneapolis, Boston, or Florida. Two delicate triangles, much smaller than other samosas, placed next to a bed of greens arrived. The waiter, who had encouraged me into the restaurant while examining the menu outside earlier, brought out four large bowls of accompaniments for the appetizer: raita, a yogurt, cucumber, mint sauce commonly found with Indian food (which he recommended for the samosas); chutneyed hot peppers; diced onions with mint; and a mango jelly-like plum sauce (that I finally tried at the end of the meal which made a great little dessert!).
The samosas were light and airy, the outer shell more like the shell of baklava than a heavily deep fried shell as most of the samosas I had tasted back in the States. And there were no potatoes inside, but instead carrots, peas, sautéed onions, corn and Indian spices blended together. So far so good.
When I finished my appetizer I was brought a warm towel heavily scented of fresh lemon to clean my hands. As I waited for the main course I noticed the quiet Indian music in the background, mellow but seductive. White tablecloths covered the light wicker furniture. Accolades for Memories of India dating back to 1991 covered the front window of the restaurant. A burner lit by a single candle was placed on my table. Shortly after, my main course arrived: a side dish-sized order of sag punir and regular nan.
It was definitely the best sag punir I had ever had. The spinach was oozing in a delicious savory butter, curry, and spice sauce. The “cottage cheese” as most Indian restaurants describe the cheese in this dish was softer than I’ve ever experienced, but was lightly sautéed on the outside before being mixed in with the spinach, giving it a slightly crispy outer layer. The nan was charred to perfection: just a little bit of black. I had no problem finishing the entire meal, but wished I had ordered some basmati rice to soak up the rich buttery sauce of the sag punir. Because it was mixed with curry, there was still yellow traces of it underneath my finger nails that I noticed as I began to type this restaurant review. :)
I was presented with a large (for an Indian restaurant) menu of dessert selections, from chocolate hazelnut sundaes to mango lassis. Unfortunately, I had no room in my belly, but lots of walking yet to do, so I passed. (I did, however, stop for a ginger and dark chocolate chunk cookie at Ben’s Cookies near the South Kensington tube line – yum!)
My overall take on Memories of India: The waiter was a bit pushy on trying to upsell menu items and be sure I was aware that the restaurant has been around for 20+ years. But the food was tasty and I thought the portions were a nice fit to the price. I wouldn’t go back since I don’t spend much time in London and there are many other Indian restaurants to tackle. But if you come across Memories of India and need your Indian spice fix, I recommend stopping in.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Find Freedom By Letting Go Of Your Limiting Expectations
I always believed that I live my life to the fullest. I have fun, step out of the box, and live a life that doesn’t look like anyone else’s. But after attending Foundations in Action with Baron Baptiste in Boston last month, I realized that I’ve been setting expectations for myself that are limiting me. I see this come up in my yoga practice, my teaching, and also my life.
Take dancer pose for example. I love dancer pose and the feeling of openness and grace that comes with it. I go to my edge in the pose, opening my heart and body as much as possible… but only for nine breaths, or however long the teacher says we will be holding the pose. I find my biggest expression of the pose just in time to hit the nine breaths, and then I fall out. If the teacher keeps us in the pose any longer than the expected breaths, I crumble. I find my fullest expression of dancer pose, but only to the limiting expectations that I set up for myself in my head.
I put limiting expectations on my life as well. Like, I can’t do headstand so I could never be a yoga teacher. Or, I’ve been a business executive for ten years; the only way I can be “successful” is to become a better business executive. Or, I’m thirty years old and most of my friends are having babies; it’s time I settle down and do the same.
We only know what we know. The same actions, beliefs, and routines we own have led us to where we are today. What would happen if we stopped listening to the limiting beliefs in our heads? What if we opened ourselves up to the world to allow for real possibility – possibility bigger than we can even imagine for ourselves?
At Foundations in Action, Baron suggested we approach our life and our practice with a sense of “it seems like” rather than “it is.” It seems like my hamstrings are tight. It seems like my new co-worker is a drag. It seems like, not it is this way. If it seems like my hamstrings are tight (rather than my hamstrings are tight) and I approach them with a sense of inquisitiveness, I may notice that after I flow through a few sun salutations, my hamstrings don’t seem so tight anymore. Or if I approach my co-worker with a sense of curiosity, rather than labeling him as a drag, I may find there is an interesting, loving person underneath the rough exterior. What it seems like really isn’t the truth at all.
If I approach my dancer pose with it seems like this is my fullest expression of the pose, I allow space to be inquisitive. I allow space for true possibility; not a limiting belief of what is possible that I place on myself. I have no idea what my dancer pose (or my life!) could look like. With curiosity and space, I am able to open up to the beautiful possibilities of life and let all the magical gifts from the universe spill forth.
The Foundations in Action weekend also made me realize that I bring limiting beliefs to my yoga teaching. In my head I create a picture of what a good teacher teaches like and strive to become that perfect package. To me it seems like my students want me to teach a certain way or to teach like the other awesome yoga teachers at Bala Vinyasa Yoga. But as I question my expectations, I realize the only way I can give my students an awesome experience is to show up authentically and teach a class as only I can. By eliminating the limiting expectations I impose on myself, I can allow things to get a little messy and open up to all that’s possible in my teaching.
Have you ever heard that saying, “beyond my wildest dreams?” What if I drop the rigid ideas of what I can and can’t do in yoga and in my life? What will I be left with? Freedom and power. Yes, FREEDOM and POWER! That’s the answer! Without imposing limiting beliefs on myself, I have the freedom to let my authentic light shine and find what truly makes me powerful in this world. It means the possibilities are endless and I will live a life beyond my wildest dreams. To me, nothing sounds more freeing than that.
Take dancer pose for example. I love dancer pose and the feeling of openness and grace that comes with it. I go to my edge in the pose, opening my heart and body as much as possible… but only for nine breaths, or however long the teacher says we will be holding the pose. I find my biggest expression of the pose just in time to hit the nine breaths, and then I fall out. If the teacher keeps us in the pose any longer than the expected breaths, I crumble. I find my fullest expression of dancer pose, but only to the limiting expectations that I set up for myself in my head.
I put limiting expectations on my life as well. Like, I can’t do headstand so I could never be a yoga teacher. Or, I’ve been a business executive for ten years; the only way I can be “successful” is to become a better business executive. Or, I’m thirty years old and most of my friends are having babies; it’s time I settle down and do the same.
We only know what we know. The same actions, beliefs, and routines we own have led us to where we are today. What would happen if we stopped listening to the limiting beliefs in our heads? What if we opened ourselves up to the world to allow for real possibility – possibility bigger than we can even imagine for ourselves?
At Foundations in Action, Baron suggested we approach our life and our practice with a sense of “it seems like” rather than “it is.” It seems like my hamstrings are tight. It seems like my new co-worker is a drag. It seems like, not it is this way. If it seems like my hamstrings are tight (rather than my hamstrings are tight) and I approach them with a sense of inquisitiveness, I may notice that after I flow through a few sun salutations, my hamstrings don’t seem so tight anymore. Or if I approach my co-worker with a sense of curiosity, rather than labeling him as a drag, I may find there is an interesting, loving person underneath the rough exterior. What it seems like really isn’t the truth at all.
If I approach my dancer pose with it seems like this is my fullest expression of the pose, I allow space to be inquisitive. I allow space for true possibility; not a limiting belief of what is possible that I place on myself. I have no idea what my dancer pose (or my life!) could look like. With curiosity and space, I am able to open up to the beautiful possibilities of life and let all the magical gifts from the universe spill forth.
The Foundations in Action weekend also made me realize that I bring limiting beliefs to my yoga teaching. In my head I create a picture of what a good teacher teaches like and strive to become that perfect package. To me it seems like my students want me to teach a certain way or to teach like the other awesome yoga teachers at Bala Vinyasa Yoga. But as I question my expectations, I realize the only way I can give my students an awesome experience is to show up authentically and teach a class as only I can. By eliminating the limiting expectations I impose on myself, I can allow things to get a little messy and open up to all that’s possible in my teaching.
Have you ever heard that saying, “beyond my wildest dreams?” What if I drop the rigid ideas of what I can and can’t do in yoga and in my life? What will I be left with? Freedom and power. Yes, FREEDOM and POWER! That’s the answer! Without imposing limiting beliefs on myself, I have the freedom to let my authentic light shine and find what truly makes me powerful in this world. It means the possibilities are endless and I will live a life beyond my wildest dreams. To me, nothing sounds more freeing than that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)