Saturday, May 26, 2012

Aloha Granola


BEE’S ALOHA GRANOLA
From my friend Becky! :)



4 C. OLD-FASHIONED OATS

¼ C. BROWN SUGAR

½ C. WHEAT GERM

½ C. PUMPKIN SEEDS

¼ C. SESAME SEEDS

¼ C. FLAX SEEDS

1 C.  UNSWEETENED COCONUT (WIDE)

½ C. CHOPPED MACADAMIA NUTS

1 TSP. CINNAMON

½ TSP. SEA SALT

THOROUGHLY COMBINE ABOVE INGREDIENTS IN A LARGE FLAT PAN



MIX THE FOLLOWING IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN AND HEAT UNTIL DISSOLVED:

¼ C. GRAPE SEED OIL

¼ C. SAFFLOWER OR COCONUT OIL

½ C. MILD HONEY

1 TSP. VANILLA

POUR OVER OATS MIXTURE AND STIR TO COAT

BAKE AT 275  , MIXING EVERY 10 OR 15 MINUTES
AFTER 30 MIN. SPRINKLE ON 2 TSP. CHOPPED FRESH GINGER AND BAKE ANOTHER 15-30 MIN.

Ayurveda For Your Mouth

The Single Most Effective Ayurvedic Practice for Your Mouth


Do you ever wish you could brighten those pearly whites without chemicals?

Almost everyone I know who cares about their body is eager to find ways to get positive results without sacrificing the integrity of their own well-being and the well-being of our lovely planet.

That means those bleach trays and teeth whitening products on the market don't exactly qualify. They have you ingesting boatloads of toxins like coal tars, fluorides, aspartame, aluminum and benzene.

So, if having a healthy mouth and brighter, whiter teeth is a priority for you, but ingesting carcinogens are not, you're going to love oil pulling.

Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic ritual where you swish oil (like coconut oil, sesame oil or sunflower oil) around in your mouth for about 20 minutes and then spit it out.

Dr. Bruce Fife, whose written an entire book on oil pulling, says the oil acts like a cleanser.

"When you put it in your mouth and work it around your teeth and gums it “pulls” out bacteria and other debris. As simple as it is, oil pulling has a very powerful detoxifying effect. Our mouths are the home to billions of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other parasites and their toxins. Candida and Streptococcus are common residents in our mouths. It is these types of germs and their toxic waste products that cause gum disease and tooth decay and contribute to many other health problems including arthritis and heart disease. Our immune system is constantly fighting these troublemakers. If our immune system becomes overloaded or burdened by excessive stress, poor diet, environmental toxins and such, these organisms can spread throughout the body causing secondary infections and chronic inflammation, leading to any number of health problems.”

Although there's no scientific evidence to support these claims, there are 3,000 years worth of personal testimonials from people India and a growing number of testimonials from people in the U.S.

I was personally inspired to start doing it about a year ago to help repair some of the damage I had done to my mouth and teeth from a decade of having an eating disorder. The most noticeable effects for me have been whiter teeth, healthier gums and more clear skin. It's been a great addition to my morning routine!

When done daily this practice is incredibly effective for:
  • Brightening & whitening teeth
  • Healthier gums
  • Removal of mucus
  • Boosting the immune system
  • Preventing bad breath
  • Increasing energy
  • Having a clearer mind
  • Decreasing headaches
  • Clearing the sinuses
  • Alleviating allergies
  • Better sleep
  • More clearer skin
  • Regulating menstrual cycles
  • Decreasing inflammation
  • Improving the lymphatic system
  • Improving PMS symptoms
How to oil pull:
  • Drink 1 cup of water on an empty stomach.
  • Melt 1-3 tsp. of organic, cold-pressed vegetable oil (I like coconut oil the best) in your mouth or over very low heat in a double boiler.
  • Swish through your mouth for 20 minutes while you’re busy doing something else. The first few times my gag reflexes reared themselves and it was a little difficult keeping the oil in my mouth, but I persisted and by the third day it was fine. If you have this problem too, I recommend sticking with it.
  • Spit into trash, compost or outside in the grass (just not in the sink - we don’t want to clog the pipes).
  • Swish water through your mouth to rinse.
Take Action Now:
  • Get yourself some oil and try oil pulling tomorrow morning (I do it while I'm walking my dog).
  • Leave a comment below with any thoughts, tips or ideas on the topic.
  • Let your friends and family in on the oil pulling secret by sharing this post!

Published May 22, 2012 at 3:20 PM
 
About Ashley Pitman
As a Wellness Educator, Cleanse Specialist crusader for whole-body nourishment, Ashley Pitman supports thousands of people in achieving a hot body and radiant beauty with a blend of raw food education, Ayurvedic inspiration, guided detoxes courses, and lots of loving encouragement. All the action takes place at Vixi.com, a digital ashram for wellness-inspired people looking to use food as medicine and health as a spiritual practice. Stay devoted to your radiance and well-being by joining the free weekly newsletter with health and lifestyle tips that work.

How to Tell if Your Adrenals Are Fatigued

How to Tell If Your Adrenals Are Fatigued (Plus 7 Ways To Support Them)

Too many of us wear stress and busy lifestyles like a badge of honor. Unfortunately, the medal that goes along with stress is usually adrenal fatigue. If you’re one that burns the candle at both ends, leaves stress unchecked, and exists on coffee and nutritionally devoid food, then this is something you might need to address.

Until quite recently, I had no idea what adrenals were. I wasn’t the best science student, and they certainly were never a part of that body part jingle that taught us of the components of the human body. “The shin bone’s connected to the knee bone, the adrenal glands connected to the …”

The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are the triangle-shaped endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys. They are chiefly responsible for regulating the stress response through the synthesis of corticosteroids and catecholamine, including cortisol and adrenaline. If that just sounded like a bunch of big words to you, let me break it down. Over-worked adrenal glands = big problems for your health.

Your adrenal glands are super important for a healthy immune system. They are necessary for proper thyroid function, balancing your hormones, maintaining your ideal weight, stabilising your emotions, controlling your cravings and much more. They are pretty much the regulators of your body, and sorting them out may be the key to solving many of your unexplained health challenges.

How do we know if our adrenals are fatigued? Unfortunately, because of the nature of our fast-paced lifestyles, this is a condition that can go unchecked because we just get so used to feeling less than brilliant. However, common symptoms include:
  • Excessive sweating or perspiration from little activity
  • Lower back pain and/or knee weakness or pain, especially on the side
  • Dark circles under the eyes
  • Dizziness
  • Muscle twitches
  • Low blood sugar
  • Heart palpitations
  • Sensitivity to light, or difficulty seeing at night
  • A craving for salt
  • Low stamina for stress, and easily irritated
  • Excessive mood responses after eating carbohydrates such as pasta, breads and sugar
  • Chronic infections (bacterial, viral, fungal, yeast)
  • Low blood pressure
  • Light-headedness on standing up
  • Tired but wired feeling, poor sleep, difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
  • Cravings for sweets and carbs, intolerance to alcohol
  • Premature aging
  • Dry, unhealthy skin with excess pigmentation
  • Lack of libido
  • Cystic breasts
  • Tendency to startle easily
  • Negative response to thyroid hormone
  • Poor concentration and fuzzy thinking
7 Ways To Support Your Adrenals
1. Get adequate sleep. Seven to eight hours a night is ideal, and if you can get to bed well before midnight you get extra points. This is when our bodies do most of their healing.

2. Schedule “me time” as part of your daily routine, and make it a priority.

3. Practice stillness or meditation every day.

4. Incorporate yoga into your routine (and spend extra time in savasana).

5. Eliminate refined sugar and processed carbs. They are empty calories and do nothing besides stress out your adrenals. Adrenal glands help to regulate blood sugar levels.

6. Eat a clean diet of organic, fresh, plant-based whole foods. Load up on vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, beans and whole grains.

7. Kick the coffee habit. Swap your caffeine fix for green tea, peppermint tea, dandelion and chicory root tea or nice clean water.

Published May 23, 2012 at 5:10 PM
 
About Jess Ainscough
Jess Ainscough is a writer, holistic health coach, and the creator of the health and wellness website, The Wellness Warrior. Via her e-books, daily blog posts, and videos, Jess’ goal is to empower people to take control of their health and show that the quality of our lives is directly linked to how we treat our body and mind. Her transformation from champagne-guzzling, Lean Cuisine-loving magazine writer to all-out nutrition nerd was made after she was diagnosed with a rare, “incurable” cancer back in 2008. Deciding she wasn’t having a bar of that “incurable” nonsense, Jess took responsibility for her condition and healed herself with two years of Gerson Therapy. Along the way, Jess developed a obsession with passing on all of her newly learnt wellness wisdom to anyone who was parked in front of her for long enough to listen.
Website: thewellnesswarrior.com.au
Twitter:
Facebook: thewellnesswarrior

Redydrate the Right Way

Rehydrate the Right Way
John Douillard, DC

Do you find yourself trying to get the most effective workout possible by gulping sports drinks during exercise?

Many people who work so hard during exercise are sabotaging their weight loss and fitness success without realizing it. Join me as I discuss how to maximize your hydration routine during exercise and get the results you deserve.

One of the biggest mistakes folks make when they exercise is poor hydration choices. Well-marketed sports drinks – even ‘healthy’ or ‘natural’ ones - are loaded with sugar and, unless you are a professional endurance athlete, you simply don’t need them.


Gatorade, while loaded with electrolytes, also has tons of sugar - up to 42 grams of sugar in 24 ounces of the fitness drink. That is almost the same amount of sugar in a whole package of Twizzlers licorice, and nearly twice the amount contained in one serving of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream!

I think we know that licorice and ice cream are sources of needless fatty calories. But when we are sucking down that Gatorade during a workout, few realize it is just as bad. It packs the same amount of calories, delivers the same amount of sugar, and layers the same amount of fat where you don’t want or need it.

Some choose “healthier” rehydration drinks during exercise, such as Vitamin Water. Vitamin Water contains 27 grams of sugar per bottle. Though lower in sugar than Gatorade, it’s still a very high amount of sugar for the body to process. The gels and goos that are the current fad are not much better.

Then there are the after-workout drinks, gels, and protein bars designed to build muscle mass and strength. A PowerBar – perhaps the most famous after-workout bar – has lots of good protein, but also packs a whopping 26 grams of sugar that quickly converts into body fat.


Read Labels
The bottom line is that the human body is just not equipped to process that much sugar at once. These energy/rehydration sports drinks deliver such a surge of sugar into the bloodstream that the body gets pushed into an emergency state. It must process the excess sugar urgently, because allowing it to remain in the blood is dangerous.

The next time you are in a health club or grocery store, read the label on some of those so-called “healthy” sports drinks. Pay special attention to the sugar content, you may be shocked!


Don’t Undermine Your Hard Work
The quickest way for the body to lower blood sugar is to convert it quickly and effortlessly into fat in the form of triglycerides (body/belly/hip fat), or to raise cholesterol levels. Knowing this, I cringe as I watch folks sucking down their Gatorade, Powerade, and Vitamin Waters. I want to tell them, "No, No, No, stop drinking that stuff! You are making FAT with each gulp, while working so hard to burn it off!”

Do you realize that it takes 14 hours of moderate exercise, like hiking or biking, or 6 hours of vigorous exercise, to lose just one pound of body fat? If you took an hour-long vigorous fitness class three times a week, it would take two weeks to lose one pound of body fat.

Exercise and activity are the major ways for the body to reduce its fat stores. Now that you know how long it takes to burn just one pound of real body fat, don’t undermine all that hard work with a sweet, fat-generating sports drink!


The best hydration beverage on the planet is -
Water.

The truth is, very few of you will ever push yourselves hard enough to need to replenish electrolytes from a workout. The Tarahumara people, identified as the best runners in the world, routinely run 50, 75 and even over 100 miles a day in the hot Copper Canyon desert of Mexico, and they have probably never even tasted Gatorade!


Once in a while, in extreme circumstances, they will add chia seeds to their water to boost their reserves and continue to run through the mountains in the desert heat.


Why Can’t I Run Like the Tarahumara?
The reason most of us cannot do that is because we have become lousy fat burners. We have conditioned the body to be fed every couple of hours and de-conditioned the body to make energy last, effectively robbing us of the endurance that has allowed the human species to survive.


Do You Think You Can’t Live Without Your Sports Drink?
If you just cannot continue working out without the aid of a sports drink, stop the workout. By that time, you have already exercised too much! When you feel the need or craving for a sports drink, realize that this is a sign of your blood sugar lowering.

The blood sugar is the body's first choice for fuel. If you do not feed it with more sugar, the body will naturally adjust to the low blood sugar by kicking into fat metabolism - and you’ll start burning fat and losing inches! But, if instead, you suck down 27 grams of sugar in the form of a sports drink, the body will say, "Oh, wait! I think the sugar is coming. Cancel the order to burn fat!"


Your Hydration Challenge
Make water your only beverage for one month and see how you feel. Replace your coffee and tea with hot water and your soft drinks with room temperature water. Try to follow this hydration protocol for one month:

  • Wake up: Drink one glass of water*.
  • Breakfast: Sip room temperature or hot water with breakfast.
  • Between breakfast and lunch: Drink a glass of water.
  • 15-20 minutes before lunch: Drink a glass of water.
  • Lunch: Sip room temperature or hot water with lunch.
  • Between lunch and supper: Drink a glass of water.
  • 15-20 minutes before supper: Drink a glass of water.
  • Supper: Sip room temperature or hot water with supper.
  • Between supper and bedtime: Drink a glass of water.

In Addition: Hydration During Exercise

  • 15-30 minutes before exercise: Drink 1 glass of water.
  • During exercise: Take sips or small drinks of room temperature water.
  • After exercise: Drink a glass of water.

Total: Drink 6-8 glasses of water per day.

* A “glass of water” means 8-12 ounces, depending on your size and weight; 6-8 ounces for vata men and women, 8-12 ounces for pitta or kapha men and women. Don’t know your type? Take our free Body Type Quiz here.


Don’t Misread your Body’s Thirst Signals
Many articles now suggest drinking only when you are thirsty. The problem with this is that the hunger and thirst centers in the brain are very close. Because of this, thirst is often misread as hunger, or the need for Gatorade rather than water.

This Hydration Challenge is designed to break the sports drink and/or sugar and snack habit, and reacquaint ourselves with the good taste and great benefit of just plain water.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Too Wiped out to Work out?

Too Wiped Out to Work Out?
John Douillard, DC

Are you feeling too tired to exercise, even though you know how good it is for you?
Or are you frustrated with poor workout results? Most folks are either too fatigued to get a good
workout in, or they work hard, sweat a ton, and invest a lot of time—with little benefit.

The cause may be related to how you exercise.

More than 100 million Americans eat a diet that decreases muscle strength and energy,
which undermines the motivation to exercise and the effectiveness of their workouts.
(1) Are you one of them?

Proper exercise can boost your muscle strength, and give you the energy and vitality
needed to exercise regularly.

Join me as I teach a simple workout that can give you the vigor of a teenager.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Article-At-A-Glance
When your blood sugar levels are too high, you will become too fatigued to exercise,
or will struggle through your workouts.

Short bursts of exercise are better than long workouts because they raise your levels
of Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which:

  • helps you lose weight
  • calms your mind
  • boosts energy
  • tones your muscles
  • enhances sex drive
  • detoxifies your body
  • increases performance

Keep reading below to learn my Twelve Minute Workout, and why keeping
your blood sugar levels balanced is essential.

==================================

Muscle Fatigue = Less Motivation to Work Out
Your muscles fatigue when your blood sugar levels are too high. When the hormone insulin
rises to an unhealthy level, the muscle cells resist the function of insulin, which is to uptake
more sugar. As sugar is fuel to muscle cells, they essentially starve and cannot function properly
. This is similar to flooding a car with gasoline, yet the engine just won’t start.

This process is called insulin resistance, and unless fasting blood sugar levels are below a
healthy 85mg/dL, the muscles will continue to reject sugar from the blood. 
Without sugar for energy, the muscles grow weak and tired.

Fatigue sets in, desire to exercise wanes, and the blood sugars continue to rise.

Studies show that 85% of Americans have fasting blood sugars greater than 85mg/dL,
which can weaken your muscles, cause fatigue, and hamper your motivation to exercise.

>>> Sound familiar? Read about solutions to high blood sugar.

In addition to converting the excess blood sugar into fat and cholesterol, which
causes a host of weight-related issues, the sugars stick to proteins in our blood through a
process called glycation. This creates sticky blood that sticks the muscle spindles together,
making muscle contractions during exercise more difficult.


How Your Muscles Work

Every muscle is made up of spindles that slide amongst each other during activity.
They are like the twines of a rope that intertwine to make the rope strong. Blood is the
lubricant for muscular contractions and strength. If the spindles stick together due to clumpy
 or sticky blood, the muscle weakens.

Sticky muscles require much more energy to slide or contract. Exercise then becomes a chore,
 rendering most folks just too tired to workout.


The Solution
The solution, of course, is a multi-pronged approach of diet and exercise.

The good news is: research has shown that with the right combination of proper exercise,
healthy lifestyle, and balanced diet, the function of the muscles can be restored in as little as
12 minutes a day! (2,3,5)


Our Bodies Were Designed To Sprint
Historically, exercise was essential to our survival. However, hunting a rabbit wouldn't require
45 minutes in your heart rate training zone three times a week, the way fitness authorities today
advise us to exercise. Instead, it would require multiple sprints using fast twitch muscle fibers
that would last about a minute each, followed by periods of rest while you wait for the rabbit to
show again.

Fast twitch muscles, as opposed to slow twitch muscles, are muscle fibers that generate short
bursts of strength, but fatigue easily.

After hunting in this way, alternating between periods of sprinting and recovery, a natural
  fitness level was achieved.


Move like a Child

Have you ever asked a child of 10 or 12 years when the last time was that they ran as fast as
 they could? They would most likely respond by saying, "All the time, I ran here."

On the other hand, if you ask a 50 year old the same question, what do you think would be
the most common response? Probably something like, "I can’t remember when I last ran as
fast as I could."

When you sprint, fast twitch muscle fibers are activated, forcing the big muscle groups to
contract and demand more fuel in the form of sugar, glucose, or glycogen. The more you
use the muscles in this way, the more energy they demand. Via this process, insulin resistance
can be slowly reversed.


Anti-Aging Benefits
Fast twitch muscle activation also stimulates the production of Human Growth Hormone (HGH).
  This hormone decreases significantly after 50 years of age. Activated by fast twitch muscle
exercise, like sprinting, HGH helps restore the youthfulness and elasticity you had in your
 twenties and, in itself, offers all the benefits of regular exercise.


Be Calm and Lose Weight
The benefits of this kind of exercise are compelling. Nasal breathing during this Twelve Minute
Workout naturally creates a safe governor for monitoring how much exercise is good and how
much more can be potentially harmful, as indicated above. The sprint/recovery training offers
many health benefits in just 12 minutes a day (without the wear and tear of a long, slow
duration workout), such as (2,3,5):


  • Increasing fat metabolism
  • Calming the nervous system and mind
  • Stabilizing glucose and insulin levels
  • Increasing caloric expenditure
  • Boosting energy
  • Creating a sleeker, stronger, and more toned physique
  • Enhancing sex drive
  • Improved lymphatic drainage leading to healthier skin and detoxification
  • Amplifying exercise endurance and performance
  • Raising growth hormone – which may be responsible for all of the above

Avoid the Dangers of Over Exercising

There is an increasing amount of research indicating the damage of long, slow training on the
heart. In one study, 80 marathon runners were tested for the kind of heart damaging chemicals
seen after a heart attack. Prior to the marathon, runners were free of these chemicals. Right
after the marathon and three days later, all of the runners showed the kind of early stage
cardiac damage seen after a heart attack. (5)

Below is a simple, 12-minute workout routine that I recommend to reverse insulin resistance
and give you all the benefits of fast twitch muscle activation.


Twelve Minute Workout
Sprint Recovery Training

This twelve minute routine can be performed daily, or a minimum of 3x/week, for cardiovascular
 improvements. You can use this as your entire workout or as a cardiovascular warm up
before yoga, a bike ride, or hiking. In these twelve minutes, you will build your cardiovascular
base.


Step One: Warm up
Slowly begin exercising. You can choose one of the exercise options listed under the “Sprint
Alternatives” section below, or pick something else that appeals to you. Stick to this activity
throughout the entire routine.

Exercise slowly for 2 minutes while breathing in and out through your nose as deeply as you
can. Check out my book, Body, Mind and Sport, to learn more about why nasal breathing is
 important.

  Also, in a recent video newsletter, I discussed all the truly amazing benefits of nasal
breathing during exercise, compared to mouth breathing. Nasal breathing is a skill that may
take some time to master. Don’t worry if you have to breathe through your mouth. Do the best
 you can and, in time, the nasal breathing will get easier.

Step Two: Sprint
Start exercising faster, like a mini sprint, for 1 minute. Use the nasal breathing during the
sprint if you can, as it will slow you down and not let you do too much. Don't push it here.
Start slowly and build yourself up to a faster sprint over time. Try to find a pace that you can
 maintain for one minute. In a couple of weeks, you will be sprinting like a pro.

Step 3: Recovery
Slow the exercise down to the warm up pace for one minute, maintaining the nasal breathing
if you can. Nasal Breathing during the recovery will force air into the lower lobes of the lungs,
allowing for more efficient release of CO2 and activation of the calming parasympathetic
nervous system that predominates in the lower lobes of the lungs. This will help you release    
toxins and stress.

Step 4: Second Sprint
Start another sprint for one minute. Make this a little faster if you can. Continue nasal
  breathing if possible.

Step 5: Second Recovery
Recover from the sprint with one minute of deep nasal breathing at the warm up pace. If you
cannot maintain nasal breathing during the recovery, it’s an indication that the sprint was too
hard. It will get easier each time.

Step 6: Continue Sprints and Recoveries
Continue sprints and recoveries for a total of 4 sprints and 4 recoveries. Follow the nasal
breathing if you can.

Step 7: Cool Down
Repeat Step 1. Exercise at the warm up pace, slowing down gradually, with deep nasal
 breathing for 2 minutes.


Note: In the beginning, you may need a 90 second recovery period after each sprint instead
of just one minute. If this is the case, then just do a 2-minute warm up, followed by three
1-minute sprints with three 90-second recoveries and a 2-minute cool down, for a total of
12 minutes.


Sprint Alternatives:
Sprinting can be running as fast as you can, running up and down the stairs, jumping jacks,
jumping on and off a curb, anything that gets the exertion levels up. However, if sprinting
scares you, here are some options:


  • Walk quickly up and down your stairs for 1 minute as fast as you can
  • Step up and down on the first step in your house as fast as you can
  • Hold a can of food in each hand and raise your arms up and down as fast as you can for
  • one minute
  • Consider joining a fitness facility and start a weight training program. Weight training
causes the big muscles to slide and demands that more energy and sugar is received by the
muscle, which reduces insulin resistance.
  • If you are weight training, use lighter weights and do fast (and safe) reps for one minute
  • to activate your fast twitch muscle fibers.

Less Is More
It is clear that long, slow workouts in your heart rate training zone are not necessarily healthy.
In some cases, they can even be damaging to your heart. In just 12 minutes, you can get your
 cardiovascular base and be free to enjoy a fun bike ride, hike, or some yoga. Less has been
proven to be more!

Please read my article on nasal breathing exercise to learn how to be sure you are not doing
too much!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Yoga Retreat Bliss

I am on a plane as I write from Tulum. The yoga retreat was beyond amazing. I am always amazed that Tulum can enchant me more each time I visit and that it seems to hypnotize me from routine and my modern life. This trip was healing and yet invigorating. The group was perfect and we enjoyed each other's company tremendously. Getting to know people on a deeper level especially in the midst of such a beautiful environment is such a treat.

The trip also renewed my love for teaching yoga and for my journey to constantly deepen my own pratice. I cannot ask for more! We had three classes a day of yoga...over 4 hours of yoga daily! We started each day with a beach side meditation which was the perfect way to wake up! We had three healthy and delicious meals following our practices...we were well fed. We took the most amazing excursions. The first one was a bike ride to the Tulum ruins. It was on top of the rocky beach cliffs overlooking a beautiful beach and ocean. We swam in the lovely turquoise sea after touring the Mayan ruins. The next trip was a snorkeling trip to the Dos Ojas Cenotes. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing seeing these underground caves filled with fresh water could be! It is like an underground world of beauty and amazement. The last excursion took the cake...a tour of some Mayan ruins that are not open to the public outside Tulum in the biosphere and then a boat ride through the fresh water turquoise lagunas to float down a 2 kilometer fresh water channel in the jungle of the biosphere. It was peaceful, private and magical. We could not believe how lucky we were to experience it all.

The rest of the days were filled with beach walks, massages, lounging and doing whatever we liked. It was just hard to describe how fun it all was! As I fly back to reality and eagerly await seeing my daughter I am feeling so blessed to be able to share my love of yoga with others and to be able to unite those of us that love yoga with a retreat for our souls! I think we all come home changed and transformed for the good...and that is the power of a yoga retreat. Come join us in 2013!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

2 Quick & Easy Lunches on the Fly

By Brigitte Meinders

I am one of those people who brings my lunch to the office at least 4 out of 5 days per week, usually 5 out of 5 days. My reasons include the fact that I haven’t found a place near my office that serves anything worth spending $10 for and I like to eat clean and know what is going into my food. Here are two super quick and easy recipes that you can throw together and bring to the office to keep in the fridge or bring with you to the beach or on a hike for a light and clean meal.

1) Simply Delicious Black Bean Salad

This super quick and easy recipe can be played around with and modified. This is ALWAYS a hit no matter where I bring it… for lunch or as a side to a dinner or BBQ.

Ingredients:
  • 1 16-oz can organic black beans, rinsed
  • 1 whole tomato, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (or to taste)
  • ½ white onion (or to taste), finely chopped
  • Juice of 1 half of a lemon or lime (depending on preference – both are great!)
  • ½ ripe avocado (optional, but adds a creamy goodness that is irresistible)
  • 1 jalapeno, sliced (also optional, but an excellent addition for those who like some heat)
  • Pinch of salt
Mix it all together in a large bowl and it is good to go! Goes wonderfully with some whole grain toast, and if you are looking to make a creamy dip, just mash all the ingredients and you get a delectable black bean hummus.

2) Quinoa with Mushroom and Asparagus

Another quick fix when in a bind, this recipe can be modified to include any veggies you have in your fridge and need to use up. I happen to love mushrooms, and the Asparagus adds a nice crunch!

Ingredients:
  • ½ cup Quinoa (dry)
  • 1 cup of water
  • ¼ white onion, chopped
  • ½ a bunch of asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ½ a package of sliced mushrooms
  • Soy sauce (low sodium)
In a small sauce pan, add the quinoa and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, put the heat on low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. In another pan, add a splash of oil and sauté the onion until almost clear (about 3 minutes.) Add the asparagus, splash a little bit of soy sauce and stir for another 2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and a little more soy sauce, mix well and let simmer over a medium heat until all the veggies are cooked to taste. Once the quinoa is cooked, pour it over the veggies, mix it all together, add more soy sauce to taste, and your lunch is good to go!

Published May 11, 2012 at 10:20 AM
 
About Brigitte Meinders
Brigitte Meinders is a New York City born yogi, writer, traveler and animal lover. She is a Wellness Program Manager at a health club in New Jersey who loves to inspire people to become their best selves possible. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs, friends and family, and living, loving and laughing in the sunshine as much as possible!

Website: ShiningSoulYoga.com
Twitter: and Facebook: ShiningSoulYoga

10 Vegan Sources of Protein

By Mara Tyler

Meat-eaters will never stop asking and vegans always get sick of hearing it:

“How do you get your protein?”

The image of a skinny (not to mention gangly and dread-headed) hippie has typically been the poster child of veganism. After all, there’s no way we can be muscular, fit and even bulky as vegans, right?

Wrong.

Vegan athletes like Brendan Brazier, Rich Roll, and Jimi Sitko are changing the negative stereotypes, proving that plant-based protein can not only build strong muscles, but can keep a vegan healthy enough to run, swim, bike, dance or pump iron – no flesh-eating necessary.

So how do you get your protein? Here are 10 vegan sources to try on for size:

1. Veggies: Yep, good old greens will pack a protein punch. One cup of cooked spinach has about 7 grams of protein. The same serving of French beans has about 13 grams. Two cups of cooked kale? 5 grams. One cup of boiled peas? Nine grams. You get the idea.
2. Hemp. No, you don’t have to get high to get your protein. But toss 30 grams of hemp powder in your smoothie and get about 11 grams of protein – just like that.
3. Non-Dairy Milk. Got (soy) milk? A mere 1 cup of soy or almond milk can pack about 7-9 grams of protein. Eat with some fortified cereal and you’ve got a totally vegan-friendly breakfast.
4. Nut Butter. Eat up your peanut butter, almond butter and cashew butter. A couple of tablespoons of any one of these will get you 8 grams of protein.
5. Quinoa. I kinda think quinoa is God’s gift to vegans (and gluten-free peeps!), as it’s versatile, delicious and delivers about 9 grams of protein per cup.

6. Tofu. Four ounces of tofu will get you about 9 grams of protein. And at about 2 bucks a pop, it’s a cheap vegan’s BFF.
7. Lentils. With lentils, you can make rice dishes, veggie burgers, casseroles and more. One cup cooked delivers a whopping 18 grams of protein!

8. Beans. They really are the magical fruit. With one cup of pinto, kidney or black beans, you’ll get about 13-15 grams of protein, a full belly and heart-healthy fiber.
9. Tempeh. One cup of tempeh packs abour 30 grams of protein! That’s more than 5 eggs or a regular hamburger patty.
10. Sprouted-grain bread. Pack a sandwich with vegan sprouted-grain bread and you’ll get about 10 grams of protein in the bread alone.
Still want to ask me where I get my protein? Yeah. That’s what I thought.

Published May 10, 2012 at 12:45 PM
 
About Mara Tyler
Mara Tyler is the author of “Cheap and Simple Vegan Recipes,” a no-nonsense book for vegans who want easy and affordable meals. She’s also the managing editor of Healthy Bitch Daily, a vegan lifestyle website. With a mission to make veganism accessible to anyone, she promotes progress, not perfection. When she’s not making a mess in the kitchen dreaming up vegan recipes, she can be found hiking or looking for bliss in yoga.

Why You Should Drink Warm Water & Lemon

By Ashley Pitman

The way you start each day is incredibly important. Whether you're a mom, a coach, a writer, a small business owner or a yoga teacher, what you do first thing in the morning matters.

According to Ayurvedic philosophy, choices that you make regarding your daily routine either build up resistance to disease or tear it down.

Ayurveda invites us to get a jump-start on the day by focusing on morning rituals that work to align the body with nature's rhythms, balance the doshas and foster self-esteem alongside self-discipline.

Your mind may say you have to check emails, take the dog out, get the kids out the door, that you can't be late for work or that you just don't have enough time to cultivate your own morning rituals.

But, if you can only make time for one ritual that will improve your health, let it be this.....

Start the day out with a mug of warm water and the juice of half a lemon.

It's so simple and the benefits are just too good to ignore. Warm water with lemon:

1. Boosts you're immune system

Lemons are high in Vitamin C and potassium. Vitamin C is great for fighting colds and potassium stimulates brain & nerve function and helps control blood pressure.

2. Balances pH

Lemons are an incredibly alkaline food, believe it or not. Yes, they are acidic on their own, but inside our bodies they're alkaline (the citric acid does not create acidity in the body once metabolized). As you wellness warriors know, an alkaline body is really the key to good health.

3. Helps with weight loss

Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. It also has been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet lose weight faster. And, my experience is that when I start the day off right, it's easier to make the best choices for myself the rest of the day.

4. Aids digestion

The warm water serves to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract and peristalsis—the waves of muscle contractions within the intestinal walls that keep things moving. Lemons and limes are also high in minerals and vitamins and help loosen ama, or toxins, in the digestive tract.

5. Acts as a gentle, natural diuretic

Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials because lemons increase the rate of urination in the body. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.

6. Clears skin

The vitamin C helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well.

7. Hydrates the lymph system

This cup of goodness helps start the day on a hydrated note, which helps prevent dehydration (obviously) and adrenal fatigue. When your body is dehydrated, or deeply dehydrated (adrenal fatigue) it can't perform all of it's proper functions, which leads to toxic buildup, stress, constipation, and the list goes on. Your adrenals happen to be two small glands that sit on top of your kidneys, and along with your thyroid, create energy. They also secrete important hormones, including aldosterone. Aldosterone is a hormone secreted by your adrenals that regulates water levels and the concentration of minerals, like sodium, in your body, helping you stay hydrated. Your adrenals are also responsible for regulating your stress response. So, the bottom line is that you really don't want to mess with a deep state of dehydration!

Adopting just this one practice of drinking a cup of warm water with lemon in the morning for a month can radically alter your experience of the day. Don't be surprised if you begin to view mornings in a new light.

Like I said, the recipe is really simple - a cup of warm (not hot) water and the juice from half a lemon.

In the comments below, tell me which one of these benefits is going to get you to try this morning ritual. Or, if you're already a lemon water junkie, what specific benefits have you noticed?

From Mind Body Green
Published May 10, 2012 at 10:30 AM
 
About Ashley Pitman
As a Wellness Educator, Cleanse Specialist crusader for whole-body nourishment, Ashley Pitman supports thousands of people in achieving a hot body and radiant beauty with a blend of raw food education, Ayurvedic inspiration, guided detoxes courses, and lots of loving encouragement. All the action takes place at Vixi.com, a digital ashram for wellness-inspired people looking to use food as medicine and health as a spiritual practice. Stay devoted to your radiance and well-being by joining the free weekly newsletter with health and lifestyle tips that work

Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad

You can view the complete recipe online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/368295



Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
2 large bunches of Tuscan kale (about 1 1/2 pounds total), center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced
12 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded with a knife
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped
1 cup finely grated Pecorino

Combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded brussels sprouts in a large bowl.

Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon oil from cup into a small skillet; heat oil over medium-high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel�lined plate. Sprinkle almonds lightly with salt.

Slowly whisk remaining olive oil in cup into lemon-juice mixture. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Dressing, kale mixture, and toasted almonds can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover dressing and kale mixture separately and chill. Cover almonds and let stand at room temperature.

Add dressing and cheese to kale mixture; toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with almonds.


Bon Appétit
November 2011
by Susan Spungen

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Getting what you need....nutrition stack ups

I eat a mainly vegetarian diet and sometimes I hear..how do you get all your nutritional needs? Here is an how plant based diets can stack up to a typical diet with respect to the nutrients we all really need to stay healthy.

Protein
Protein provides the amino acids you need for growth and repair of tissue. An average woman needs 60g and a man needs 70g. One cup of cooked beans has 15g of protein, barley 11g, cottage cheese 15g. The key is variety so that you get a good balance of amino acids.

Iron
Iron assists with delivery of oxygen to the cells. A deficiency can cause fatigue, poor immune system response, and mental fog. Women need 18 mg, (pregnant women need 27mg)and men need 8 mg. Iron rich options for vegetarians include: kelp,black strap molasses, wheat bran,pumpkin seeds, almonds,beans, dark leafy greens, and lentils. There are two forms of iron. The type that is taken from animal sources is easily absorbed but not the case with plant based sources. It is good to pair these options with good sources of Vitamin C to aid in absorption. Examples are tomatoes, peppers and citrus fruits. You can take this as a supplement but there can be side effects with elimination from the supplement. Note that high intakes of Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc can also interfere with iron absortion.

Vitamin B-12
B-12 is vital for maintenance of nerve and red blood cells. It is also used to make DNA. We all need 2.4 micrograms daily. This is abundant is fish, meat, poultry and eggs it is more difficult to find in plant based foods. My best source of it is nutritional yeast. You can sprinkle this on veggies into oatmeal or into your meal. You need about 2 tsp full. Algae is also a good source. I like live blue-grean algae from Kathlamath Falls-E3Live. Some milks also supplement with B-12.

Calcium
Calcium is needed for bone health and for proper enzyme activity. The contraction of muscles depends on calcium. I do not cosume much dairy so I get my calcium from my hemp, soy or rice milk mainly. Actually kale is a better source of calcium than milk! Other sources are tofu, spinach, chickpeas and broccoli. Most of us need 1000mg daily. Sometimes supplements are good for this one as long as they are paired with Magnesium but beware of the amounts they provide. Most do not provide the RDA. I prefer calcium citrate over carbonate due to its absorption. Caffeine, alcohol, protein and sugar increase calcium excretion. Calcium deficiency can result in muscle cramps, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and colon cancer.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega 3 fatty acids are important for cardiovascular, eye, and brain health. If you do not consume fish, you may be low in EPA and DHA fatty acids. The general recommendation is 0.3 to 0.5 g for men and women. Another important fatty acid is ALA which is abundant in flaxseed, walnuts, soy, and canola oil. Aim for 1-2 g per day. The body can make EPA and DHA from ALA sources but you will need to consume more. Algae supplements provide some DHA and so do some eggs. Some symptoms of fatty acid deficiency are fatigue, dry skin, hair and cracked nails, maldigestion, immune weakness, forgetfullness, and aching joints.

More to come...

Amansala Resort in Tulum featured in Yoga Journal

The site of my May Yoga Retreat was just featured in the current Yoga Journal Magazine as one of the top locations for a great beach yoga retreat get away! Pick up an issue and take a look. It is not featured online yet. Those of you joining me on the trip..we are in for a treat and those of you that are still looking for a last minute get away..come join us! A peaceful paradise awaits you!

The retreat is May 17-23rd in Tulum, Mexico. See the events link to get more information.

Amansala Resort Link

10 New Reasons to Eat Veggies

http://www.lifespa.com/article.aspx?art_id=178

 by John Douillard, DC

You know you should be eating your vegetables, but do you know why?

Did you know, for instance, that eating more vegetables can help you reduce stress, increase attentiveness, reduce cravings, and lose weight?

The truth is, while most of us know we should be eating plenty of vegetables, few of us actually eat enough. The US Food Guide Pyramid recommends that we eat 3-5 servings of veggies a day, yet studies show that only 22% of Americans do.

Here are 10 reasons you may not have known for piling on those greens. Once you read these top ten unsung reasons for eating veggies, I hope you will have all the motivation you need.


Article at a glance:

Learn how eating more veggies can help you:
- increase attentiveness
- release toxins
- protect yourself against high cholesterol and heart disease
- stabilize blood sugar
- alkalize your blood
- balance your taste buds
- restore the flora in your gut
- and more!


Number One: A Reason to Chew
Have you ever eaten a bowl of fresh, either lightly steamed or raw veggies? If you have, you may have noticed one simple fact - it takes time to chew.

Unlike a sandwich, which you can eat quickly, eating veggies demands more dedication to chewing.

Studies conducted by the chewing gum industry have linked the act of chewing to many beneficial effects on the nervous system. One study from St. Lawrence University found that students who chewed during tests outperformed non-chewing students in five out of six cognitive tests due to what they called, "mastication induced arousal."

Another study from Cardiff University measured increased cortisol (a stress hormone) production, faster heart rates, and increased attentiveness - all from chewing. These test results were not linked with the sugar content in the gum, nor the flavor of the gum chewed. As a result of the overwhelming research in this area, students today are actually encouraged to chew gum during tests.

While the advantages of cortisol production and “mastication induced arousal” are debatable, here is a list of amazing benefits to be reaped from chewing:

  • Chewing stimulates the production of salivary digestive enzymes like amylase in saliva, which lubricate the esophagus and the chewed food in the digestive tract.
  • Chewing relaxes the end of the stomach - called the pylorus - allowing food to be released into the small intestine more easily.
  • Chewing stimulates taste receptors in the mouth, which in turn triggers the release of hydrochloric acid, or HCL, in the stomach. HCL is responsible for processing hard-to-digest proteins, like casein in dairy and gluten in wheat.
  • Inadequate chewing has been linked to digestive issues such as gas, bloating, and other forms of indigestion.
  • Chewing also forces us to relax and take time to eat, rather than race through every meal.

In other words: The more you chew, the better you digest. So sit down to a meal of veggies and chew your way to better digestion.


Number Two: Take it From the Gorillas
Gorillas, whose digestive system most resembles that of humans, eat more than half their body weight in ounces of vegetables a day. They literally spend all day munching on veggies. While it may be unrealistic to match their consumption, experts agree we should be eating up to one, or even two, pounds of veggies each day.

Gorillas also eat fruits, grains (in their natural unprocessed form), and a small amount of meat.


Number Three: Release those Toxins
Vegetables are loaded with fibrous cellulose, which scrubs the intestinal villi, provides bulk for the stool, and binds toxins for escort out of the body. Without enough cellulose in the digestive tract, bowel movements - and the consequent elimination of toxins - are dramatically compromised.

Cholesterol, along with other toxins, is attached to bile in the liver. Vegetable cellulose attaches to the bile and escorts it, with toxins in tow, out of the body through the stool. Without enough vegetable cellulose in the diet, up to 94% of the bile (with cholesterol and toxins attached) is re-absorbed by the liver and the blood, which raises cholesterol and increases risk of cardiovascular disease.


Number Four: Your Armor Against Heart Disease
Most Americans gets their cholesterol tested regularly to screen for heart disease, the number one killer of Americans. The cholesterol that is connected with heart disease is called low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, and is often referred to simply as, “the bad cholesterol”.

Cholesterol becomes “bad” through the process of oxidation.

Vegetables are the number one source of antioxidants in the diet, neutralizing the process of oxidation. When vegetable intake is low, antioxidant levels crash, allowing the fats in the blood to oxidize. Low vegetable consumption is directly linked to the oxidation of LDL and, ultimately, high cholesterol and heart disease.

Major protective phytonutrients found in vegetables, including flavonoids and carotenoids, have been shown to reduce heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and some cancers.


Number Five: The Ultimate Low-Calorie, Blood-Sugar Stabilizing Food Group
Vegetables are extremely low in calories. A cup of vegetables averages about 50 calories. By contrast, nuts and seeds can have as many as 750 calories per cup. Moreover, the body uses almost the same amount of energy to chew and digest vegetables as it receives from them, thus, they are called a “free food,” or a food with a very small caloric load.

Breaking down the cellulose fibers in vegetables takes time, which allows the carbohydrates to be released slowly. This helps keep the blood sugar stable. You can see why vegetables are the ultimate low calorie, blood-sugar stabilizing food group.

Vegetables are also low in fat and have zero cholesterol. In fact, 95% of all vegetables have less than one gram of fat per serving. Eating plenty of vegetables stimulates the breakdown of fat already stored in the body, and helps the body burn this fat for energy.


Number Six: Alkalize!
Most experts agree that the diet for optimal health should be 1/3 acidic and 2/3 alkaline. In nature, the winter harvest is a mostly acidic one, high in grains and meats. In the spring and summertime, nature’s bounty of alkalizing fruits and vegetables helps the body naturally detoxify the heavy stores of winter.

Alkalizing the body helps keep the blood healthy and the lymphatic system moving, maintaining a constant natural detox.

Challenge yourself this spring to make two-thirds of your diet alkaline - it is more challenging than you might think! See my Acid/Alkaline Food list here.


Number Seven: Balance the Six Tastes
Vegetables provide the body with the oft-overlooked tastes of bitter, astringent, and pungent. In a society largely addicted to the sweet, sour, and salty tastes, large amounts of vegetables have been replaced with a diet rich in grains and bread, meats, dairy, and eggs.

According to Ayurveda, the six tastes are to be included with each meal. This balances not only the body, but the mind and emotions as well. In Ayurveda, the word for “taste” – rasa - is the same as the word for “emotion,” echoing that food is fuel for the body, mind, and spirit.

A diet high in the sweet and salty tastes can overly-satisfy the senses and, in time, create a dependency on those sweet and salty foods. Studies show that these foods activate dopamine receptors in the brain.

Dopamine is the "I’ve gotta have it hormone," and it plays a part in any addiction. It is a “diminishing” hormone, meaning that the more you stimulate it, the more of a substance it takes to stimulate it to the same degree. Soon, the natural sweet taste of vegetables (think of them as complex sugars wrapped in fiber) gets replaced with the more potent, quick-acting sweet taste found in breads, dairy, and sweeteners.

To balance this major cultural addiction to the sweet and salty tastes, we must significantly reduce those tastes and add generous, nearly gorilla, amounts of veggies back into the diet!


Number Eight: Spring Cleaning
In the spring, when the snow begins to melt and the ground softens, deer dig up rhizomes to eat. Rhizomes, or surface roots, are loaded with astringent and bitter constituents that scrub the intestinal villi of old and hardened mucus congestion. It is like a spring cleaning of the gut. These early spring roots also stimulate liver function and blood purification. So don't forget the root vegetables like beets, burdock, carrots, ginger, radish, onions, garlic, dandelion, turmeric and most spices.


Number Nine: Nature’s Pro-Biotics
Green vegetables, especially the spring greens, are loaded with chlorophyll. Chlorophyll fertilizes the intestinal villi and aids in the proliferation of the good intestinal bacteria, which are essential for digestion, assimilation, detoxification, and intestinal waste removal. This is a natural way to get the pro-biotic result, without a supplement. In contrast, most pro-biotic supplements do not encourage the growth of your own flora. They work well only while you take them, but the benefits stop when you discontinue taking them.

The production of intestinal flora may be one of the most important factors linked to optimal health. When we take nature’s cue and load our diet with alkalizing veggies in the spring, we naturally restore healthy intestinal flora.


Number Ten: Vitamins and Minerals (That Your Body Doesn’t Make)
Vegetables deliver vitamins that the body does not make, including the water-soluble B-complex vitamins such as B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, biotin, and choline, as well as Vitamin C. The water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body, so they must be ingested daily. Without adequate amounts of veggies in the diet, many of these vitamins may become deficient.

Vegetables are also a rich source of the fat-soluble vitamins A and K, and some Vitamin E.

Vegetables are also the primary source of minerals in the diet. For instance, the main source of calcium for humans should not be dairy, but green leafy veggies. As far back as 1936, in a well-publicized report entitled, “Document 264 from the Department of Agriculture”, the 74th Congress stated that, "99% of the American people are deficient in minerals, and a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in disease."

That same report from 1936 stated that, "virtually all soils in the United States are mineral deficient." In 2001, The Journal of Complimentary Medicine pointed out that US and UK Government statistics showed a decline in trace minerals of up to 76% in fruit and vegetables from 1940 to 1991.

Perhaps this makes a case for mineral supplementation, but first and foremost, we must focus on getting as many veggies in our diet as we can!

* Always eat organic when possible.


Top Tip for Getting More Veggies:

Try veggies for breakfast! Start the day off right by adding steamed greens to your am fare. It might seem unusual at first, but you’ll quickly get used to how good you feel.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

New Beginnings...

For those of you that have not heard, I recently accepted a full time job with 24 Hour Fitness as a club manager.  I am excited, scared and in shock at this next step. For the last almost 2 years I have been working for a company as the director of an internal consulting group. I have been traveling the country during the week and then changing hats to a yoga and fitness instructor on the weekends. Meanwhile trying to spend time with my little one and manage my personal life. It has been interesting and yet exhausting. I knew a few months ago it was time to move on and make a change. I was not sure what this change would end up being but my desire was for it to be in the field of my passion..fitness and wellness. This job came to me and for now it looks like the next best step. Unfortunately, it entails me only working for 24 Hour Fitness. I am having to give up my classes and the Riverplace Athletic Club and Bethany Athletic Club. This is a huge, scary step for me as these classes have been the source of such joy for me for many years. Those of you in my class are so dear to me and I have been blessed by your presence! The thought of not being in class on Saturdays and Mondays is quite odd and sad to me..but as I learn in my life time and time again..nothing ever stays the same.

This lesson of impermanence is a tough one I struggle with.. I seem to find things I love and then I hold on tight because, let's be honest who likes losing things we love and things that give us joy? But then things that seem new and different and uncomfortable are avoided and sometimes these are the very things that send us to levels of joy and growth that were previously unfathomable. We cannot grow if we stay hidden in our comfort zones..staying stagnant is not safe it is just ignorance that we are clinging to. The joys and the good times in life will never always be there and in the same token the sad and tough times do not remain forever either. Life is an ebb and flow of hard and good times and loss is a part of life for everyone. I can understand this on a mental level but still it seems hard to sometimes make those necessary changes. Although my current situation was stagnant and needed a change I am afraid of giving up those classes that were such sources of joy but truly that is just my fear and clinging to the comfortable. Perhaps I will not find classes in which I love and adore as much again but perhaps I will find another source of joy that is equal or surpasses this one. Really I do not know and there is no certainty about any of it but it is a part of the cycle. I must step forward to continue to grow and learn and there will be loss along the way and that is just the cycle of life.

So to those of you I must say good bye to soon..thank you for your part in the blessings. I honor and feel much grattitude for our time together. As Dr.Suess says, "Don't cry because it is over. Smile because it happened." I will smile because I have such happy memories that remain with me.

My last BodyPump class at Riverplace will be 5/14
My last BodyPump at Bethany will be 5/12
My last Yoga classes at the Riverplace will be 5/12

Yogis, at 24 Hour Fitness, I will continue to see you Sunday nights and perhaps even more in future days. :)