Motivaction Monday: The Power of Intention

I set an intention at the end of last year that I wanted to heal and release some old, stuck injuries and dis-ease in my body that I’ve been carrying around for 20 years or so. I had no idea HOW to do this. And here’s where most people stop. But I’d like to tell you how powerful an intention - one that you BELIEVE in, even if you don’t know how - can be.

One of my stuck places was an old injury at the very top of my hamstring. It never really healed properly, and has oscillated from mildly uncomfortable to extremely painful over the past 20 years. I held this intention, slowly exploring possibilities, over 8 months, until some major breakthroughs started occurring. 8 months! By now, most people have long forsaken their original intention, or squandered their goal into the debilitating “nothing works for me.” Hogwash! Not knowing HOW to do something is the place of CREATION. If you already know the answer to something, you’re coming from an experience you already know how to have. If you want a new experience, you have to be WILLING TO NOT KNOW! To be open to creation. That’s the tricky part: staying OPEN, day after day.

Well, here’s what started opening up and revealing itself to me as the result of staying open and willing. I work with a lot of people to help them tune in and be able to receive their body wisdom. I’m able to do this because I’ve spent many, many years navigating the process, experimenting, and approaching the concept from many angles! The result is that now I’m easily able to access the wisdom of my body and let healing unfold. It’s a process with layers (like onions and ogres!). The message I started to receive from my hamstrings, as they are healing, is that I’ve been living my life from a place of hold-back, rather than a pull-toward. This is a huge shift! On the physical plane, I’ve been running with the hold-back/slow down muscles! I started practicing engaging the quads instead, and it’s a completely different experience! To run from a place of being pulled toward, rather than a place of hold-back. What a concept!!!!!

Now, how might we apply that to other areas in life? Where might you be holding back in places you’re called to MOVE FORWARD?

So as an action today, I’m inviting everyone to do a hamstring stretch! To let yourself breathe into all the resistance that goes on when we start to let go of all the hold back, and open up to the wisdom within that invites you to step forward.

It doesn’t make sense to go back. Going forward is the invitation, should you choose to accept. Are you willing to stretch with me?!

Let It Go

Yes, the Disney Let It Go. This was honestly not what I had planned for today, but I always try to follow inspiration, so here goes! 

Although I’ve heard the words to this song a time or two, when I heard it today, it was a different me listening. Recently, you may have seen my video posts about taking imperfect action and how the lifestyle we choose lets our light shine brighter! Here’s what resonated today.

“Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway”
— Let It Go Lyrics - Idina Menzel

 

I’m going to go line by line and hopefully you'll be inspired like I was!

Let it go. Really (do this!): take a breath in, feel your lungs move and your stomach soften and fill, and notice yourself letting go as you exhale. Because this is how we tune in to this present moment. We notice the sensation of our lungs expanding, relax our stomach, and notice the sensation of letting go.

That perfect girl is gone. I mean, she might pop in for a visit every now and then, but she doesn’t actually reside here anymore. That perfect girl was the one who was a little afraid to step out, afraid of failing, afraid of not getting it all just right… and so she didn’t. She played small and ventured a little, but mostly kept to what she could excel at or wasted a lot of energy feeling bad at what she wasn’t. She’s gone, baby – bye bye bye. This girl TAKES IMPERFECT ACTION!!!! This girl knows that mistakes are RESEARCH!!!!! This girl trusts that forward motion means you can course correct along the way.

Here I stand, in the light of day. I’m showing up. I’m letting my light shine. I’m stepping into my spotlight. I’m patient and gentle with myself and I trust that showing up and doing the work I’m led to do means saying YES to opportunity. Because I’m tuning in and showing up, ‘here I stand’ means that I know exactly who I am and what I want, and I’m not afraid of that – I’m empowered by that. Here I stand means I’m stepping up to being who I always wanted to become, in the light of day. Not hiding. Not playing small. Not scared. Fear is excitement without the breath!

Let the storm rage on. Roll on, roller coaster. Life is swirling all around us, and it always will be. Sometimes we pretend that we can’t relax unless we’re lying on a tropical beach. But the truth is that your peace, and your experience of being present and relaxed, isn’t dependent on the world around you. It requires you only to breathe. Don’t believe me; try it. Notice the air come in through your nose, fill your lungs, relax and soften your belly. Notice yourself letting go as you exhale. The air is a little cooler as it comes in your nose; a little warmer as it comes out. In any moment, there is nothing more required of you than to simply breathe. It might seem like you’d never get anything done if you’re relaxed and breathing with a soft stomach. The truth? I won’t lie. The truth is that it actually energizes your action to come from a present, relaxed place, even in the middle of a raging storm.

The cold never bothered me anyway. The cold, external chaos can’t touch a girl who’s on fire. It’s that glowing, emotional shine that lights you from within. It’s passion, delight, and incidentally, metabolism. Whaaaaat?!!!! I snuck that in on you, didn’t I? So, you’re probably going to want to SHOW UP for my Mindful Metabolism workshop!!!!!!! Info coming this week!

Why? Because as a wellness coach, I work with women who are anxious, weary, frustrated with fluctuating weight, and feel guilty for not showing up as their best for their family. I help them gain energy, confidence, peace, and be their most loving, glowing selves.

Would you like to schedule a free empowerment session, either in person or by phone?

 

 

Yoga Wisdom: Day 7

You must allow yourself to grow bigger than your challenges. You do this by learning how to talk to yourself kindly and gently. You persevere through challenges by breathing. Fear keeps you smaller than your challenges, but fear is excitement without the breath! The more relaxed you are, and the more you allow your comfort zone to stretch and grow, the greater your ability to creatively solve those challenges. Set your life up to make you stronger every day.  

“Don’t wish it was easier. Make yourself stronger.”
— JJ Virgin

Yoga Wisdom: Day 6

Some days, you will do these wise things. You’ll push past your limitations and bask in the glow of expansion. Other days, you will sit through the standing poses or cry through the floor poses. Either of these types of days are purposeful and okay. BE where YOU are each day. Your best is different every single day. Listen to your body. The rest is equally as important as the effort. 

Yoga Wisdom: Day 5

Anything is possible, and EVERYTHING is available to you. Your body can do SO much more than you think. Work on opening your mind and expanding your comfort zone. Your fear and doubt are the ONLY things that can hold you back. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. But you must breathe, and you must STAY through discomfort. Fear is excitement without the breath. 

Yoga Wisdom: Day 4

You. Must. Breathe. Gently. The tendency is to hold your breath when you’re uncomfortable. To be successful in dealing with stress you must learn to feel discomfort, nerves, tension, anxiousness WITH YOUR BREATH. Soften your belly! Let yourself feel, and let yourself stay with it. Most of the stress from feeling pain, discomfort, anxiety comes from freaking out about the feeling! It's okay to feel what you are experiencing, and you reduce the stress when you breathe into it. When you notice your lungs expand, and relax and soften your stomach as you breathe in, and then notice yourself gently letting go of that breath, you allow yourself to BE, instead of trying not to be what you are. And that's what you're here to do: Be what and who you are. You actually change the physical makeup and configuration of your brain when you breathe into fear, worry, discomfort. You actually shift from the shadow of who you are, to the light of who you are. Simply by breathing. 

Yoga Wisdom: Day 2

Don’t think or act like you are farther ahead than you really are. Your poses the first class you go to won’t look like someone who’s been doing them for 15 years. Watch and learn from those who have been doing things longer, but you must start where YOU are. If you are diligent and consistent, you will master it, but don’t expect to be a master the first time. Always try new things, and allow yourself to be a beginner.

DO Something!

Well hello there, readers! I took a few weeks off of showing up, partly because, you know, Christmas, but partly because I was feeling stuck and overwhelmed. Are there any of you out there? Stuck? Overwhelmed? It happens, right? And you know I'm going to show you why it's a positive, right?!

I don't know exactly how it happens for you, but the stuck starts for me with a little tiny speck of a shadow of self doubt. I feel all this forward momentum and take some super cool strides, and then it creeps up on me slowly, usually in the form of a slight dip in my energy. It's kind of sneaky, that self doubt... I don't usually recognize it right away as such. The energy dip distracts me, and as I do a little scramble dance trying to figure out if I need to switch up a workout, or maybe add in a meditation time, or maybe a delicious veggie or more protein is just what I need to up my energy.... as I try to sort that out, I get a little overwhelmed. I'm not quite sure where I should be focusing. And boom, before I know it, I'm doubting it all, tribe. I'm stepping back from the plate. I'm tired, irritated, indecisive, and I don't know which way exactly is up, or forward. Does this ever happen to you?

Oh, that sneaky self doubt! Luckily, I've done this cycle a time or two and I have some ideas to renew your passion and focus... and if these don't work for you, see if reading this ignites a new possibility! 

First, the bottom line here is that all that self doubt and negativity? It simply isn't true. Not even a little bit. It's born from fear, and that fear has a lovely, protective purpose. So listen, thank the fear and doubt, let it know you hear its concern. And then tune into the truth. Your truth. Marianne Williamson says one of my favorite things about this topic:

“We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?” Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won’t feel insecure around you. You were born to manifest the glory of God that is within you, and as you let your light shine, you give others permission to do the same. As you are liberated from your own fear, your presence automatically liberates others.”
— Marianne Williamson

THAT is the truth! Step back up to the plate, baby. The world needs exactly what you have to offer, today. And yes. You. CAN. 

Second, DO SOMETHING! It doesn't matter how small, but you've got to stop dragging your feet (like I was, writing this blog, or like you are... what are you putting off?) and take one, simple, easy action. Here's my DO, folks. I decided to celebrate the fact that I'm starting to teach a yoga class at the YMCA next week by posting 7 days of yoga wisdom. I wrote these yoga lessons a few years ago, and thought they were for my daughters. I feel like there's a better chance that if I share them with you, you won't roll your eyes and you'll LOVE it! For the next 7 days, I'll be posting a short burst of yoga wisdom for real life, from my heart to yours! 

XOXO

Yoga Wisdom Day 1:

Do not compare yourself to the people around you. You aren't supposed to look or act like someone else - you are supposed to look like and act like you. Someday, God will not ask, "Why were you not Taylor Swift/Mother Teresa/Fill in the blank." He will ask, "Why were you not [insert your name here!]."

 

 

Upgrade your food, upgrade your energy!

So last week we learned how to turn digestion on. How’s it going? Are you remembering to relax, especially before eating, softening your belly as you breathe in? Keep at it!!!!

Now that digestion is turned on, let’s look at the possibility of upgrading food choices! Food should be delightful, energizing, and easy for you to fit into your day and lifestyle, and sometimes there are better and worse convenience options. You don’t have to suddenly eliminate everything except vegetables overnight. You don’t have to eliminate anything if you don’t want to, but I think it’s a useful quest to consider how you can make the food you already love one step closer to really nourishing! Food, like with anything else in life, is not about perfection, it’s about striving to be just 1% better each day.

Today I’ve got some upgrade possibilities for common snacks. You can apply these suggestions when shopping for other foods too!

*Yogurt – yogurt is typically marketed as a “healthy” food because of the probiotic strains of good bacteria. Don’t be hoodwinked! Yogurt is junk food: a delicious convenience food that my family loves; I just want you to properly categorize it in your brain. Because of its sugar content, it’s along the lines of “cookies.” The pasteurization process kills any probiotic benefit, so unless you’re fermenting your own fresh cow’s milk, you’re actually feeding bad bacteria with all the sugar in yogurt. The most important thing to watch for in yogurt is that it doesn’t contain ARTIFICIAL sweetener (unless your goal is to wreak havoc on your hormones and create neurological imbalance and massive weight gain. Then go for the sweeteners!) or coloring. It will contain sugar, but you do NOT want it to contain aspartame or any other ingredients besides milk, sugar, vanilla or other flavor/fruit pieces, and pectin. There will also be the advertised probiotic strains. For a sweet treat, look for Dannon vanilla yogurt and add your own fruit. You can upgrade this one step more by choosing Siggi’s, which has a creamier consistency and MUCH less sugar. Tip: when choosing snacks, you want to strive for the grams of protein to be equal to or more than the grams of sugar. Siggi’s has the best balance that I’ve seen so far in yogurt. Just be sure to READ the ingredients on any yogurt you’re considering!

*Yogurt add-ins – If you want a super energy boosting bonus to your yogurt, soak chia seeds in water for a few minutes until they form a gel-like consistency and stir it into yogurt! Chia seeds are magical and make me feel energized and full for hours. The gel that the seeds secrete when they soak in water actually binds to toxins and junk in your body, and pulls the pollution right out with them. If you prefer to have something crunchy, like granola, mixed into your yogurt, check out Purely Elizabeth granola. It’s lower in sugar than most granola and packed with wholesome ingredients! Chopped almonds are also great in yogurt and add a little protein to balance out that sugar!

*Fruit snacks – So as long as we are clear that fruit snacks are not fruit, we can proceed. You want to make sure that you choose a fruit snack with NO corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup!!! Avoid corn syrup of any kind at all costs. I can go into a 2 page detail why, so contact me if you want those details. Otherwise, you can trust me. Good luck with the label reading and finding something you’re willing to spend your money on with these, but the upgrade I offer you is to try fruit rope or fruit leather instead. Again, it’s not fruit, it’s the concentrated sugar out of the fruit, but for a chewy delicious treat, just make sure you’re not creating much more trouble than they’re worth by adding corn syrups, added sugars, or any food coloring.

*Applesauce/canned fruit – an easy, packable and portable option, when selecting any appleasauses or packaged fruit, please make sure it’s packed only in fruit juice. Fruit contains plenty of sugar, so it’s not necessary or tastier to add any sweeter. Especially in applesause, watch out for corn syrup! You want your packaged fruit to have 3 ingredients ONLY: the fruit itself, juice, and ascorbic acid. NOTE: monk fruit is an added sweetener. Keep looking for the fruit that contains only itself and juice.

*Coffee – Ha! You thought I was going to tell you to kick the coffee, didn’t you? Don’t worry, your caffeinated heart can start beating again!!!! Breathe, relax! Enjoy your coffee! I have 2 suggestions to help you upgrade your coffee habit AND increase your energy naturally. First, drink a full glass of water before your morning cup of coffee. You can find scientific evidence to both prove and disprove that caffeine is dehydrating, but that’s missing a bigger point. Caffeine robs your body of nutrients in various ways, so my suggestion isn’t for the hydration factor alone. Drinking water is simply a good habit, and one that can easily increase your energy, hydrate your skin and organs, and contribute to well being overall. And second, check out Teeccino. It’s packed with nutrients and comes in a variety of flavors, and you might like it enough to substitute your coffee outright, or might want to mix half into your coffee.

What other snacks, drinks, and go-to foods do you consume often? If you’re interested in figuring out a creative upgrade, comment below and I’ll see if I can offer suggestions!

Wednesday Wisdom

Woohoooo!!! Were you Waiting for Wednesday? For some delicious health insight?! See how I did that there? Delicious? Because how we do one thing is how we do EVERYTHING, right? This connection is SUPER important!

I really want to spell it out for you, tribe. If you’re rushing around and grab something to eat on the fly, notice that you eat in a rushed way, without really chewing. Notice that if you’ve got this lingering worry about your job/kids/spouse/life, you’re lingering with the chips or ice cream (or both). Just let yourself notice for a moment how the way you eat reflects the way you’re feeling. Maybe even the “stuffing” yourself thing… perhaps there’s some area in your life that feels a little empty.  Let the noticing be good, no judgement… just a little observation.

This observation is SUPER important! Because, unless we are aware of all this happening, we are both mindless about it and powerless to change it. Let’s break it down in a really bare-bones way: Stress, tension, worry - whatever word you relate that rushing, crowded thinking with - turns on the sympathetic nervous system (this means: fight or flight. Shut down digestion). Relaxation turns on the parasympathetic nervous system (this means: rest and digest. Turn on digestion). So before we even think about what to eat, we’ve got to turn digestion on… otherwise, out bodies do not absorb nutrients, cannot convert food into energy (anyone tired?!), and we’re in an inflamed state before we’ve even taken a bite (read: chronic disease!). Ok, got a little blah-blah-blah there… are you still with me?

I’ve got BOTH a gift and an invitation for you today! (Rubbing my hands together in excitement!!!) First, the gift – a solution, because I am all about RESULTS!!!!! And this is really a gift that keeps on giving, in any moment. Read slowly (and maybe re-read, copy, paste, and print)!

“If a problem looks difficult, relax.
If it looks impossible, relax even more.
Then begin encouraging small changes, putting just enough pressure on yourself to move one turtle step forward.
Then rest, savor, celebrate.
Then step again.
Slow is fast. Gentle is powerful. Stillness moves mountains.”

This is exactly what I do as a health coach. I teach you how to relax (who’d-a-thunk we’d need to be taught that?!). I show you how to translate what you know (yeah. You know you need more greens, less sugar, more water, less stress) into what you do...and even what you WANT to do. I break overwhelming goals into easy, manageable turtle steps. I shine a light on the shadows of doubt, and inspire you to be accountable for your dreams. Are you worried about holiday weight gain or starting to feel a seasonal mood shift? Are you struggling to keep up with life and wishing you had more energy?

If there’s any area in your life you feel could be 1% better, then I invite you to schedule a free Breakthrough Session with me. It’s easy to schedule at www.SpicyRootsHealthCoaching.Setmore.com.

Could one conversation change your life?

 

A Thanksgiving Gift

Hey tribe! As a way to express how thankful I am for your support, I’ve got a commitment for you! I realized that in my coaching program, I’m asking you to take a leap of faith. I’m asking you to envision your best self, and be willing to embark on the journey to get there. That can be scary. It requires you to say YES to doing the “DO,” feeling the “FEAR,” and being patient and gentle with yourself along the way. I’m asking you to do something that stretches you out of your comfort zone and requires you to show up for yourself. And I’m prepared to hold that space for you. But I’ve been shirking away from the ONE place that requires me to do the same in the BIGGEST way for me.

My BLOG.

The place that requires my committed consistency. The outlet that offers me the opportunity to do the DO, feel the fear, and be gentle with myself along the way. So I’m stepping up, and I’m showing up! This task feels scary for me and requires me to be SEEN by others. I’m committing to offering a WEEKLY blog post as my way to consistently serve and inspire you. My blog won’t always be about nutrition, because food is not the only thing that lets us shine. It will be about every, and any, area of life – because how we do ONE thing is how we do EVERYTHING. My blog will be about supporting you and encouraging you to grow into the best version of you, as I grow into the best version of me. It will ultimately, over time, intertwine body, mind, heart, and soul, because we are spiritual beings in a material world (and I am a material girl?!). It will include, but not be limited to, relationships, parenting, career, exercise, food, hobbies… anything relatable: uplifting, inspiring, or even purposefully painful and authentically dark, because life is a full spectrum experience.

So here we go!!!! I'm kicking off with a timely post about the Thanksgiving meal! The one that you may be anticipating, dreading, or both. The kick-off to the holiday festivities and seasonal chow-down mode. I've observed some comments about this meal that I've been contemplating, and I'd like to offer you a humble re-frame. I heard one person say something about "eat a lot and regret it later," and I heard another comment that they weren't worried about the turkey, (protein), but they were about the pie. As always, I like to decide if a viewpoint serves me. So here is a re-frame that has always empowered me and allowed me to delightfully enjoy every holiday meal I've ever had: Eat. ENJOY. Repeat. Without regret.

Whaaaaat?! Aren't I a health coach?! Aren't I supposed to be schooling you on carb/protein/fat balance?! Telling you to eat a piece of fruit instead of pie?!!!! Share my Brussels sprout recipe?!!!!  I can, if you want me to, but likely, you already know all that. And you know full well you're still gonna rock out the Thanksgiving dinner! SO, my re-frame for you is that I believe guilt and crap feelings are actually unhealthier than pie. I also think tuning out and gorging doesn't serve your body. So I offer you a possibility, one that I see serving me and bringing me a ton of delight in food over the years (without a ton of guilt or weight gain): Wake up and move your body - even if it's a half pushup or 10 squats! Eat a great breakfast. Have some lunch (I swear, your body doesn't work as efficiently in the starve and stuff mode). Eat what feels delicious to you at dinner. Chew it, taste it, breathe in the spirit of gratitude and giving that is highlighted all month long. Give yourself, and your body, a delightful experience. Stop when you're full - pace yourselves people! Slooooow it all down and love what you're eating. You can heat the other half of your plate up in an hour when you're starving again! And for goodness sake, enjoy your pie!

There you go: permission from a professional to love the food you eat. GO!! I've got all year to school you on the rest!!!!! :)

Here's the brussels sprout recipe, as a sneak preview on upgrading your choices!  http://juliasalbum.com/2015/10/roasted-brussels-sprouts-cinnamon-butternut-squash-pecans-and-cranberries/

I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving in whatever capacity that means for you. Blessings, friends!

 

Food vs. Supplements: Where to Spend Your Money

There are SO many supplements and companies out there, toting fantastical health claims; it’s easy to want all of them, or be so overwhelmed and disillusioned and want none of them! What should you spend your money on? I’ll give you a breakdown, so you don’t go broke trying to figure it out!

First off, what qualifies me as an expert on this topic (other than my training!) is not that I live in a state of wellness all the time. I sometimes feel like crap, get down in the dumps, and wear myself out. What qualifies me as an expert is that I DO NOT STAY THERE. I am constantly and consistently recalibrating, realigning, reassessing. I notice when something is off or missing and I seek to bring things into harmony. I base my supplement recommendations on my ever expanding knowledge as well as my personal healing experience, and the results I notice in my family as we experiment and learn how to best care for ourselves. Our lives and our health are not static and can’t be until we are dead! We evolve and grow, and our needs change as we do. Much like with faith, relationships, and fitness, the world often pulls me away from my wellness core; and as with anything worth doing, it takes our desire and attention to continuously come back to the thrive zone, where we reap the benefits of our effort!

Here are my top 2 supplement picks:

1. Probiotics

Every human MUST have a high quality probiotic supplement, unless you eat traditionally fermented food (read: salt brine, NOT vinegar!) or dirt (lots of good bacteria in dirt!) at every single meal. Why is this so important? Please understand: your body is only about 10% human cells, and 90% bacteria!  There must be a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria. Over half of your immune system resides in your gut, and communicates with every other system in your body, including your brain directly! This is a big deal! Harmful bacteria feeds on sugar, and if their population grows larger than the helpful bacteria, you cannot be well. There’s a reason why your stomach/gut is called your core. Think of it like the sun: the power center from which all rays shine forth. Nothing else in your body can function properly if good guys (who are fed by the nutrients in vegetables) are overpowered by bad guys (who thrive in a stressful, processed, sugar world). MUST HAVE PROBIOTICS!

Side note/tangent to your sun-like core: did you ever notice how our bodies are a mirror image of the world around us? All living things have a functional, miraculous design. Our cardiovascular system looks like the branches of a tree, and our lungs branch out into air sacs that look like leaves. Trees are the lungs of the earth. Hug one today! We are perfectly and functionally designed, and our bodies can only be sick if they are missing an important nutrient or unable to manage added substances. Balancing the environment in your gut - your core - is the number one most impactful thing you can do for your health, especially for chronic disease and mental health issues!

I recommend:

  • Natren brand Healthy Start System
  • Fermented foods, found at your local health food store. Look for the ingredients to be vegetables and salt brine (no vinegar! Sauerkraut from the grocery store won’t have healthy bacteria). I like the Wild Brine brand. One bite can provide TRILLIONS of beneficial bacteria – far more than you can get in a supplement.

2. High quality fish oil

ALL disease begins many years before its diagnosis as inflammation. Disease manifests differently in different people, hence the many different names and expressions of disease, but it all starts with inflammation. It’s your body’s first line of defense, but too much of this good thing, is very bad. The most impactful way we influence our body’s level of inflammation is through our diet, so unless you are eating a completely anti-inflammatory diet of whole, fresh foods, with no processed foods or factory meats, I believe a good fish oil is imperative. Here again, there’s a balance of good guys and bad guys. Fat is absolutely necessary for our health, brain function, and fat regulation (yeah… those “fat-free” foods? RUN. Fast and far away, unless you want to GAIN weight!). Omega-6 fats are found in vegetable oils, shortening (please, eat butter!), peanuts, potato and tortilla chips, cracker-type snack foods, processed meats…. Most of what you find at the grocery store. Omega-3 fats are found in fish, sprouted beans, and even some vegetables like spinach, cabbage, and squash. Your body needs BOTH of these fats – Omega 6 turns ON inflammation, and Omega 3 turns it OFF. See where this is going? If the balance of Omega 6 containing foods is higher in your diet than Omega 3s, disease starts here. Fish oil is a great way to get the anti-inflammatory benefits of Omega 3 fats.

This is where you want to spend the money on a reputable company who tests and purifies their fish oil and posts those test results. Otherwise, you risk mercury toxicity and rancidity. Fish oil supplements should never taste fishy or give you gross burps or anything of the sort.

I recommend:

  • Dr. Sears’  Zone Omega Rx fish oil

 The Runners-Up:

  • Glutamine: Axe Naturals Leaky Gut Support
  • Vitamin D: Biotics Research brand Bio-D-Mulsion Forte
  • Magnesium: Can-Prev brand Magnesium Bis-glycinate

I've heard it said (perhaps by myself!) that we never stay the same - anything we eat or do either contributes to health or to disease. You get to choose! Hopefully this gives you a starting point to navigate the biggest bang for your buck!

The Hurry and the Worry

The Hurry

The problem: "I'm in a hurry and don't know why. Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun. All I really gotta do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why."

This Alabama song used to play in my head nearly every morning, for many years, no matter how much time I had or didn't have. I've been observing this trend, at least in America, to always be rushing. Rushing our kids, rushing through life, always this constant pressure of the (hypothetical) ticking clock. I especially felt it while driving, and I noticed that I felt it even when I wasn't late or on a time schedule. I nearly constantly felt that I didn't have enough time.  I recognized that it was a stressful feeling, and I've consciously been bringing my awareness to the issue for the past few years. Here's what I've come up with.

The solution: Einstein Time. This morning, when my inner radio tuned in to the old song, I was excited to notice that I don't feel that same constant hurry anymore! I thought I'd share what's helped me live a little more presently: it's Einstein time. Of course, it's a very complex theory that has a brilliantly simple application. Gay Hendricks says that "for your life to work harmoniously, you need to develop a harmonious relationship with time," and that there's a simple truth for you to embrace:

“You’re where time comes from.”

You're also where energy, love, creativity, and joy come from, but one thing at a time... he he. Time is not something that happens outside of you - on a clock, for example. The entire experience of time is created by YOU. Do you remember when you were a kid, and summer vacation actually felt like a lifetime? Have you ever been engaged in a conversation with a friend that felt like maybe 10 or 20 minutes - but it was 2 hours?! Or if you have kids, 10 years can sometimes feel like a week, or a week like 10 years! True to its Theory of Relativity name, time really is relative.

Now, put yourself in the scenario of being 5 or 10 minutes late, and you're driving to work. You are in a huge rush, and time just seems to speed up, as the red light lasts much longer than usual. This is where Einstein Time gets real. When you imagine that you should be in a place that you are not in right now, time works against you. It's what truly being present means: knowing that in every single second, you are exactly where you are meant to be, and never allowing the illusion of wanting to be somewhere else to rob your time, joy, and energy.

When you settle yourself FULLY into right NOW, you can create your experience of time, and there is never any reason to rush. I know, it sounds so out there. But it's really IN HERE!!! The scenario now looks like this: you're driving to work, fully present, really breathing and experiencing being in the car, actually being in your body in this place. You can allow yourself to have plenty of time. And when you really breathe and be in the place you are, somehow you arrive at exactly the right time. At first, it seems unreal and difficult, but the more you practice it, the more you experience it! You've got to BREATHE, and be fully in the place where you are.

The Worry

The problem: A state of unrest and unease, where you are so concerned about the past or the future that you are not able to have peace right now. You're worried. About everything.

I have kids. I know all about worry. But again, I observe that it creates stress, not joy. It does not serve you or those around you to worry. Here's what I've been piecing together on this topic. What we're worried about isn't happening right now, or we'd be dealing with the scenario, right now. What we're worrying about is happening in our head. And our thoughts become our words. Our words become our actions. Our actions become our habits. Our habits become our values. Our values become our destiny. I'm thinking Mahatma Gandhi knew a thing or two about the Law of Attraction. What you think about produces energy, and you tap into the experiences of that energy. Deep thoughts here! So, when you are worrying about something, the images playing in your mind probably aren't positive ones - and that's the energetic level of experience that you will have. A positive result can't come from negative thinking, and you get to choose it!

The solution: TRUST. Have you ever noticed, when you look back on your life, that no matter what it was that happened, it was a blessing or a gift? It's ALL good! You can see that even the challenges, if you've had enough time go by, were for good in your life. And we can know this in every moment, no matter what's going on. I have trusted through every life experience I've had - they haven't always been fun or enjoyable to go through. But I know in every moment that even though I can't see the good in it yet, God knows what (S)He's doing! That's enough for me. To know that I don't have to have the answers and reasons. God's pretty smart, and we can all piggyback on that intelligence, by just trusting what's happening, rather than worry about what's happening.

What does this look like in real life? It looks like this: a worry comes into my mind. I notice it, and decide what I would like the outcome or experience to look like. I breathe. I begin to think about how I'd like it to go, and I feel what it feels like to have that outcome. It feels pretty good. I smile, and I say, "Thanks God! I trust you. You know what you're doing. Just show me what you want me to do!" It aligns me with a higher source of energy. Something that seems "terrible" may still happen in my life - it's not like there will never be a "rainy day" (and why do those get such a bad rap?!). I still trust that whatever is happening is purposeful, and I'm thankful for it or for what I can learn! No worries... it's all good!

P.S.

I don't actually live in Einstein time every second (yet), and I'm not worry- free in every moment (yet), but I practice a lot! When I forget, I forget, and when I remember, I remember. I'm pretty sure it's ok to learn new things and not completely grasp or live them immediately, but to add them in to the best of your ability. Have fun practicing new experiences, trying new ideas (and foods!), and noticing new things!  No hurry, unless you're hurrying, and no worries, unless you're worrying... but no matter what you're doing, remember to breathe!

Get Rid of Wrinkles!

What's your favorite thing to do when you feel jumbled up or stressed? What's something you do when you feel out of sync or frustrated that brings you back to your center, your peace? Mine is to run. This morning, I went out for a run. Just as I started settling into my pace and my dialogue with God (which involves a lot of listening), I started to hear the message that all I needed to do was feel the earth, breathe, and trust. I started to focus on that, and it took me a few repetitions (slightly louder and clearer each time) to stop, take my shoes off, and walk the rest of the way - feeling the earth, breathing, and trusting.

There's something quite spectacular about feeling perfectly comfortable and peaceful with looking a little odd - you could try it sometime! Whenever I follow that inner guidance, inspiration is usually on its way. So here's what came up today: a brand new theory. My theory is that if you don't want wrinkles, then don't act old. Let me expand on all the images and messages that gifted me by trusting my intuition this morning.

“If you don’t want wrinkles, then don’t act old!”
— Spicy Roots

 

Let's take a little lesson from our smooth-skin babies. How do they respond to the world around them? In the sun, they walk barefoot and do cannonballs. In the rain, it's rain boots, umbrellas (maybe), and splashing in puddles. Snow? SNOW!!!! Catch snowflakes, make snow angels and snow people, fly down hills, snuggle by the fire. I think it's quite possible that worrying about clothes and hair and jiggling, day after day, gives you wrinkles. Worrying about anything at all. If you don't want wrinkles, then don't act shriveled up - open up to the experience of being alive, of feeling and enjoying the world around you, and being present with each moment and what it has to offer you.

I've been noticing that quite often, adults do "old" things with their actions - they are reserved, not carefree. They are a little more stationary, not so active. And worry, worry, worry. Yet our feelings and emotional responses become increasingly more childish... immediate gratification, carelessness with our money, health, relationships. Does it seem a little backwards that as "adults," we don't want to splash our clothes, get anything dirty, or feel hot or cold, yet we are easily willing to eat food that creates disease (because I don't like that green stuff. Pout!), buy things we don't have money for (because I want it NOW!), or scold our children for splashing in puddles (because you'll ruin my outfit and make me late! Eye roll!)?

Today, my intention is to trust my inner knowing and delight in the world around me. To draw inspiration and learn from the children around me. And paradoxically, doesn't that teach them how to learn?

How about you? What's your intention for this beautiful day?