Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Featured

Balance Your Body Type (Inspired by a Deepak Chopra Program)

Balance your body type – Based on your score, you can find better health, balance, and passion work

A rainbow eucalyptus tree is a good metaphor symbol for our unique bodies where you can help to balance your body type for your best life today.

In 2008, I went through Deepak Chopra’s Perfect Health Program in Carlsbad, California that cost me more than any vacation I can remember. My reward has been a life changer, as I’ve used some of the life skills every day and still to this day, over a decade later (and you can use to help balance your body type).

I believe everyone can use this helpful information for their whole life in several ways, including better health to slow aging, whole balance, and finding passion work.

How I Discovered the Program

I was personally struggling with remaining angry emotions from a stressful, uninspiring management position I had just left.

Some roles aren’t the right fit, and there was one, in particular, I held after a line of unsatisfying work, that mildly put, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

You could be good at your job and hate your job, which is how I felt, so I left that position (but my story had a good ending as a new role was created for me at the same company).

Hating the one position I held, led me to strong irritated feelings and heat throughout my body. I felt moody, out of sorts, and off (my usual) balance. I hadn’t started the position feeling that way.

I had small fleeting flare-ups with internal anger throughout my adulthood, but never this strong and for so long, that I could clearly isolate myself from one work situation and place.

This is how I came to delve deeper into learning about the mind-body connection (that has since grown in national awareness).

I had to do something pretty immediately, as my daily quality of life was affected. I knew I needed to find a permanent solution to help me deal with my stress-related and unhealthy burnt-out feelings.

I also knew I needed to attend something deep and experiential to have a change and lasting impact. I was looking for a hands-on solution that provided skills I could use throughout life, for preventative reasons.

I had already been following Deepak Chopra’s teachings through books and audio.

While researching, I discovered his Perfect Health Program that is based on Ayurveda (life science), an ancient 5,000-year-old scientific method of determining health and wellness through the mind, body, and spirit connection. In essence, the healing power of mind over body.

The concept of the mind-body connection is, if you have baggage (in your mind) that you’re holding onto from the past, that can translate to disease and disorder.

Cardiologist Dr. Dean Ornish in the Lifestyle Heart Trial proved that 48 advanced heart patients could reduce fatty plaque deposits blocking coronary arteries with their healthy lifestyle changes (exercise, yoga, meditation, and specific diet).

Ayurveda and The Perfect Health Program would take Ornish’s breakthrough study and apply principles to any disorder.

Deepak Chopra had been reporting Perfect Health approach successes for over a decade before his book Perfect Health (The Complete Mind Body Guide) was published. Many thousands of others had gone through the same Perfect Health Program I attended.

Perfect Health Teachings

For my situation, to help get me back to a calm equilibrium, I performed yoga and silent meditation for the first time through the Perfect Heath Program. But the most valuable information I learned was about the mind-body connection concept (and how my previous approach to balancing life, preventing disease, and other health issues, was more about external activities than internal wholeness).

To begin to learn about your current mind-body status and balance your body type, it’s critical to know there are three Ayurvedic body types (called Doshas). They are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Most people dominate with one Dosha (but we as humans all have traces of all three Doshas).

I’m a pure Vata determined by body frame, weight, eyes, complexion, hair, joints, sleep pattern, body temperature, feelings under stress, and temperament.

The human mind and body communicate and sends signals to each other that result in your (human) action, characteristics, emotions, and health problem tendencies related to the Doshas.

For mind-body, you can have a single, double, or triple (all 3) dosha(s).

Vata types typically act in indecision, bounce back and forth working on multiple activities, are extremely forgetful, feel anxious and worried, and have mood swings. Health issues can range from stomach, insomnia, and anxiety issues.

Pitta types can act hard-charging, or get easily stressed, angry or irritated. Health issues can range from severe heart attacks to mild heartburn.

Kapha types typically act easygoing, calm, and can be resistant to change. Health issues can range from depression to sinus or chest congestion.

Before attending the program I read Deepak Chopra’s Perfect Health (The Complete Mind Body Guide) that the Program was based on. I realized that I naturally have a Vata Body and Pitta-Vata Mind combination.

Enter The Deepak Chopra Perfect Health Program Solution

At the Chopra Center, I took a self-scored test and discovered my Pitta Mind/Body imbalance was off the charts, that needed correcting and counterbalancing (also called “pacifying a dosha”). That discovery came as no surprise based on my symptoms.

That explained why I could jump on the littlest thing, and why I could feel actual heat emanating from my body. These symptoms led me to desperately seek help.

There I also attended classes, health consultations, detox cleansing, and received Dosha-specific massages. I also tried group meditation and yoga for the first time. Yoga was just catching on the brink of mass appeal popularity.

A few participants in the same classes I attended had developed Fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal pain disorder. This condition led them to seek help. I realized those with a disorder also could benefit from a mind-body connection solution.

These folks I met happened to also naturally have a Vata Dosha type and received warm blankets during their massage that sounded so nice to me, as it was chilly weather outside. Their imbalance was more Vata-focused.

I had a different imbalance (Pitta). To calm the fiery heat condition I had, the outside patio doors were opened for me in the middle of the cool winter, while I was laying down on the massage table.

That’s what my imbalanced Pitta body needed and felt good with, despite my brain saying I wanted warm comfy blankets like my new Vata friends had.

Similarly, a hot steam shower sounded good but would have made my imbalance worse.

From the program I learned, I could help restore balance again with some of the following healthy changes and additions to my life. I started these things right away:

Sounds: Turning off loud sounds, and deliberately listening to light and calming sounds like classical or relaxing music. Silent meditation (restful awareness) would have been good except I had lists running through my brain that I didn’t know how to silence as an inexperienced meditation beginner.

A typical balanced Pitta mind has a get things done attitude. I already learned I had a partial Pitta mind, so having a Pitta imbalance was adversely affecting my mind.

Smells and Foods: Adding foods to eat that were sweet, bitter, and astringent (and drinking relaxing chamomile tea which is not usually one I like). I gravitated to rose-scented candles. When they burned sandalwood incense in the Wellness Center’s bathroom, I was drawn to that scent that calmed me, while that same scent repelled others who needed other scents to pacify their other specific imbalances.

I could barely smell orange scents that a balanced Vata Dosha type, normally would gravitate towards. The same principle applies to and explains why certain perfumes and colognes smell better sometimes than other times.

I took a variety of natural herbs specific to the program and for my specific situation that helped with restoring balance and heat in my body (to lower my internal thermostat).

Exercise and Activities: Jumping in a pool in the middle of winter would have been great for me. As would ice skating and other wintery cooling sports. Hatha yoga became part of my weekly balance regimen (usually good for anyone, anytime).

I made these relatively easy, daily lifestyle adjustments after I came back from the program. I noticed my heated body and feelings of strong irritation started to disappear gradually.

Here’s a process you can take to learn more about how to live healthy for your mind-body:

Balance Your Body Type

Step 1: Take the Body Balance Quiz

You’ll learn (for free) what your primary Dosha body imbalance (Vata, Pitta, or Kapha) is in this snapshot moment based on your situations, stressors, or season that can be different than your natural body Dosha tendencies. You’ll also get suggestions you can print out on how you can begin to counteract and restore your imbalances back to balance.

The information is so revealing and can be life-changing (as it was for me). It’s also fun as you get to learn new lifestyle enhancements and tweaks that will benefit you and your health your entire life (and wish you knew sooner).

You commonly can have a different mind imbalance (than body imbalance). And you can be “tied” in the highest mind imbalance score, which means you have 1–2 mind imbalances (it’s rare to be tied in all 3). The same applies to body imbalances (e.g. balance your body type). Don’t let that intimidate you.

Just focus on the ones that are the highest scores. The idea is to lower those. For example, I had a score for Pitta Mind, so that was one I needed to work on.

Remember there’s a direct mind-body connection and correlation, so both are important.

Your imbalances will naturally differ at various times in your life. That’s why learning the skill of how to get balanced is helpful for various seasons in your life, and especially when you’re feeling something is “off.”

Getting back to balance allows you to:

- Let your authentic body-mind nature shine through.
- Live the positive aspects of your authentic body-mind nature.
- Downplay the (seasonal) aspects of your body-mind nature holding you back.

Step 2: How to Apply This For Your Life (Balance Your Body Type)

After you know the primary Dosha imbalances you have, then for starters, make the following lifestyle modifications. You should overall feel good about your taste, smell, sound, and activity modifications.

Many people have a Pitta imbalance (like I had) since many people have stressful jobs. These are a few changes you can make for each imbalance.

Pitta: If you’re irritated/angered, listen to classical and light music, smell scents like sandalwoods, and do yoga.

Perform cooling activities. If your Pitta imbalance is strong, being cool/cold in the winter will still appeal to you (defying logical tendencies).

Vata: If you’re anxious/worried, then listen to music without regular beats.

Have an orange-scented candle near you and perform a varied motion activity like Tai Chi.

Kapha: If you’re feeling tired/lazy, then listen to heavy music and loud sounds like classic rock-n-roll.

Smell scents that wake you up like evergreen firs. Perform heavy workouts or exercises.

Deep yoga breathing exercises can really help also especially if your stress is in your chest.

Hopefully, you understand the process and some starting ideas on how to begin to counteract (pacify) your imbalances.

By discovering your imbalances, you can help prevent undesired daily moods, negative emotions, and health issues later down the road. You can feel peace when you balance your body type.

The sickness you should seek to avoid is the one that you are most prone to, and that is indicated by your prakruti.

Step 3: How To Take Your Newfound Knowledge And Find Your Passion Work

You can also apply this information above to discover your passion and purpose work (and by default, the work that would drain you and not be a good fit).

Inspired by how else I could use this valuable information, I creatively discovered this on my own.

I got out of positions doing unenjoyable hum-drum work using my skills and experiences that I was not passionate about. At these unfulfilling work choices, I questioned the impact I was making.

So one day I started creative(ly) writing. I did an experiment with this specific season where I was doing fulfilling writing work.

While writing regularly naturally feels like passionate work and I feel relaxed, I had a high Kapha Mind with a slight Pitta Body imbalance.

Kapha is not usually a strong imbalance for me. Having a lesser imbalance (lower score) would have been the best result, but having a Kapha imbalance was better for me than the other Dosha imbalances.

My typical body disposition (Prakruti) is Vata, and my mind is usually Pitta-Vata. When I was most stressed and went to the Perfect Health Program, I had a Pitta Mind and Body imbalance.

Any type of work that could make me feel anxious/worried (Vata tendencies) or angered/irritated (Pitta tendencies), would be the most stressful and worst combination for me.

Hypothetically, if my score had indicated a Vata imbalance during this time that I pursued fulfilling writing work, then I would likely have been severely or doubly anxious, forgetful, indecisive, etc. It could have resulted in some kind of dysfunction or deepening health issues later down the road.

As in most cases, there were lifestyle factors not accounted for (like what I was doing during the hours I wasn’t working in the 168 hours per week). For the most part, I did not have high stressors in my life.

I also took this similar inspired body balance quiz in the winter season, which is typically a heightened imbalance for Kapha, as it’s commonly associated with cold season and resisting (hibernation) tendencies.

Taking those additional factors into account, writing was not hurting my overall balance. I further confirm it was helping my overall feelings (of satisfaction) when I write.

Similarly, you can find or come close to discovering your sweet spot passion work by figuring out if your imbalance is acceptable. If you’re stressed and have a high Pitta imbalance that could be a tell-tale sign that you may not be doing activities that are good for you.

Before this knowledge, I had been looking at finding a balanced life, completely differently. Previously I sought work-life balance, working flexible hours. That’s part of the balance, but that doesn’t include the type of work you do, and loving what you do during those 40+ hours.

Now I look at balance as doing passionate work that enhances life. Then having a fulfilled life outside of work, to have them blend together. That seems to be the trend as many companies are trying to make the workplace more like the home. For example, casual dress at the workplace.

To optimize what I’m doing, using the Kapha Mind imbalance I have as an example, I do the following to help myself out…

Exercise and Activities for Kapha Mind/Pitta Body:

Sounds: Listening to loud music can get me going (Kapha mind). The opposite, calmer sounds like classical music (piano or jazz) are good for Pitta. Sound vibrations are primarily first picked up by the brain, but then permeate into the body cells (mind-body connection).

Exercise: Cardio work out. Since my Pitta body imbalance is low, the Kapha mind is the pacifying remedy I need to seek most. So rather than cooling down exercises, I seek high activity.

I discovered an easier, non-scientific (intuitive) way to learn your imbalances after you know what to look for.

Scanning Your Body Method (For Your Best Health, Life, and Work) – Balance Your Body Type

Besides scoring, you confirm any Dosha imbalances with how do you feel? And what is your body telling you? Since I want to do cardio work (and I feel good performing) and I don’t want to jump in a pool, I confirm naturally (through thoughts and feelings) that my Kapha imbalance is higher.

After practice, you can become an experienced Dosha/imbalance detecting pro or Dosha Expert, knowing which imbalance you have as it becomes your natural way.

You learn what your body and mind need by being attuned and internally sensitive to your mind and body needs by your actions and reactions…

Are you anxious or worried over everything and anything (Vata)? Are you irritated or anger easily (Pitta)? Are you accumulating things or lazy (Kapha)?

These are giveaways and natural health signs. You can see signs throughout your day to day if you know what to look for.

Third Benefit For Seeking Balance

The information you’ll discover about yourself can be used to balance your body type, and find your healthiest and highest and best use purpose work. All of this can help you from aging.

There’s another third benefit I discovered in finding your balance.

You can get deeply creative. When you’re in your happiest pure joy, then you can get in the flow. And get in your mind to exceed capabilities beyond your ordinary.

Through the Perfect Health Program, I realized that balance and stress reduction includes meditation (to become aware of the present moment). Getting rest awareness during this time helps with clarity when you’re in the real world. This can also be achieved through intentions in yoga.

What I Learned To Balance Your Body Type:

#1. Overall Health and Balance Starts in Your Mind to Balance Your Body Type

Good health is preventative and not just from what I eat or intake (vitamins, herbs, etc.). Mindfulness is important for reducing stress which reduces aging. I’m able to find peaceful moments more often, where my mind is calm, and content on good and bad situations, recognizing that’s part of the journey.

I’m able to be in the moment in activities like creative writing and yoga.

Finding my best work can reduce the negative sides of my natural Dosha tendencies, where I could be anxious, worried, irritated, or moody.

I learned that my Fibromyalgia classmates had formed this disorder because of past emotional hurts that needed healing (starting out in the mind).

I was able to let go of childhood wounds that were holding me back. I had to be mindful and distance myself from myself as a child. I was able to imagine a younger me (from a photo image I had) and comfort her, telling her everything is okay now and forgiving my parents. That took the weight off my shoulders. I was able to heal and restore my mind and body.

That brought me back to internal balance (for authentic whole balance). This came from more than just participating in various external activities (that I previously thought was the solution).

# 2. Balancing My Natural (Vata) Dosha Restores Me:

I can take anxious and worried energy and exchange for peace in yoga and meditation intention.

I can make the right choices easier. Since Vata is my primary Dosha, it’s easy for me to be naturally indecisive. But I can refer to the knowledge I learned when I’m out food shopping, buying a candle, or music. Before I go to the store, I’m purposeful about what I’m looking for to help balance me. This saves time from making decisions and reduces trial-and-error.

I have fun confirming what I know about my current body imbalance, sniffing candles and spices. I don’t make too many mistakes of buying or trying the wrong thing and then having remorse. I can answer the question: What does my body need?

# 3. Finding Contentment and Peace As A Better Way of Living (Over Anger)

From learning about how to reduce my imbalances and centering (in yoga or mindfulness), I can better keep myself feeling peaceful and calm. That’s the ideal way to be. I’m not fluctuating, up-and-down, and dependent on my life circumstances to bring me happiness. I’m not making decisions based on moods.

I’ve learned to be content and never again feeling like I’m riding an emotional roller coaster despite life’s twists and turns. In my opinion, that’s the best part of what I learned from my experience.

I hope you can discover and get a glimpse in your mind or life, to anything that may be holding you back, so you can be emotionally free, present, and restore balance. Then, discover your passion work and creativity.

Want to learn more? Get your personalized mind-body calm recipe to balance your body type.

Share this

Plant Based Breakfast Ideas For Better Low Sugar Habits

Plant-based breakfast ideas encourage our better low sugar healthy habits that help our bodies protect us against inflammation and preventable lifestyle diseases like Type 2 Diabetes.

Plant-based can be delicious and filling like a Three Sisters dish where the trifecta effect is proteins, carbs, and fiber.

Three Sisters makes for great plant based breakfast ideas. — Net healthy plant-forward 3 Sisters dish with butternut squash, corn, and black beans. Imagine starting your day with this trifecta!

Eating more plant-based foods also help our warming planet and climate change causes.

And when we align all of those intentions with farm-to-table delicious eating and seasonal food preferences, we’re restoring our Ayurvedic body balance…

Some simple examples are: we want to eat and drink lighter, cool foods like cereals, smoothies, and cold brew beverages on warm days. And prefer comfort, warm porridge and potato food on cold days.

With rapid climate change these days, we often flip flop back and forth daily and seasonally. We use our internal body cues and external clues to keep us balanced.

It’s good to be aware how all this healthy information helps us.

And the good news is there’s a plant-based fix for all of us.

Below are some plant-based breakfast ideas that can get you excited about your health, energy, and planet with unusual climate changes… plus help you lower your sugar intake.

An evolving earth appreciation drink like this is full of surprises like blueberries showing up at certain times.

Like an Earth Day layered drink helps us appreciate all the constantly changing stratospheres in our planet. And this is a metaphor for our lives where nothing stays the same.

Lowering Your Sugar in Breakfasts

Firstly, if you started out like I did as a sweet tooth (or still are one 😋), you know there’s definitely hope if you want to change your tastes from sugary sweet to lower sugar, healthy plant-based breakfast ideas…

Many years ago, I had a guest coming over for the holidays that I learned was diabetic. I knew I had to come up with a sweet option for this special guest. That was the only option for this former party planner (where finding a way was the only way and “once a food planner, always a planner”).

I sympathized because I couldn’t imagine going through life without sweets! 🍭

So around town I drove and picked up a bag of diabetic cookies (substituting refined sugar with maltitol). If you’re not familiar, monk fruit sugar is commonly used today as the new maltitol ingredient. I use monk fruit sugar often out of healthy preference. You don’t have to be diabetic.

And anyway, I fell in love with those diabetic cookies. I figured the guest would be as excited as I would to have an after dinner dessert with the rest of us.

Those were the days when AllRecipes was one of the very few online sites you could find recipes besides OG Martha Stewart and offline cookbooks that never grow old.

There weren’t diabetic recipe sites.

…And so, when the holiday dinner rolled around, I mentioned the cookies to the diabetic guest, and I learned something very profound I’ll never forget when he declined the sweet offer…

💡The sweet taste was no longer even a category for this person who hadn’t had a sweet bite since his diagnosis.

That was an eye-opener. Because previously I thought people were born with a sweet tooth or they weren’t (and could do nothing about their sweet sentence). And I definitely was in the first category.

When I started upon my own journey to reduce daily sugar intake, I was reminded of those lessons.

I then knew I could gradually wean off of sugar as others had (like the diabetic guest) from changing habits.

And if I knew that sooner, I probably would’ve done so sooner.

And that’s like how most of us are with our areas we want to change: we don’t know what we don’t know. 🤔

When I gradually took in less sugar, I found I craved sugar less.

I didn’t have to do the heavy lifting all myself.

My body helped me and it helps all of us when we don’t keep overfeeding our sugar cravings.

…A light cookie with a sweet tea flavor without extra sugar will do the trick. It doesn’t have to be the portions served at restaurants.

And baking your own sweet goods can save you because you don’t have a large box sitting around tempting you.

You can simply make less and then you’ve taught yourself that working for a sweet is a reward.

You satiate your sweet craving with a tiny bite that’s also the most delicious bite.

💡In economic terms, that’s: the marginal utility wears off with each bite.

💡In nutrition terms, that’s: intuitive and mindful eating helps you appreciate your food as part of daily joy and helps build a healthy relationship with food.

And in my first tries, making it through those habit forming days where I reached for a low-sugar cereal over cookies was sobering but still doable. One step forward, two steps back.

But I knew deeper down I could go a day without sugar.

And the opportunity arose where I chose to fast from sugar with a church-wide fast event. This was for our spiritual growth. We could choose anything that was addictive to us.

I was in a Bible book club then studying the book of Isaiah and learned that the people in that day were addicted to idols that caused their problems.

And without a moment’s hesitation, I picked sweets as the first thought that came to mind.

From the sweet fast experience, I learned I didn’t even crave sweets when I had an intention and was determined for a desired outcome.

But I was still stunned at what happened.

Because that was a new concept to me: what… not desire sweets!?…that would’ve shocked all my closest friends as I always had a piece of candy or something sweet on me even when I wasn’t aware.

It’s no surprise that when I was younger, I was a sucker for mosquitoes that loved my sweet blood.

And then in 2021, I started baking weekly. I added less and less sugar into my bakes. And sometimes not using refined sugar or monk fruit sugar at all and only using whole fruits, spices, and other healthy natural powder ingredients.

It was hard for me to add spoonfuls of sugar when I knew how harmful sugar is for both the body and mind.

And that became my healthy way out of sugar when my skin became inflamed with eczema during the uncertain early days of the pandemic when I was also building up a pantry and starting to home cook more.

Eczema was my wake up call.

It was my body’s warning to me that I took seriously.

And the effect was a much lighter consequence than a destroying gut microbiome outcome, Diabetes or other chronic disease diagnosis.

I used healthy teeth as one of my motivators for a comeback to heathy eating.

…As a kid I loved eating spoonfuls of white sugar straight out of the glass sugar jar. I always had cavities, and that thought alone makes me run to celery or carrots.

And yeah that was many decades ago, but that’s pretty much what we’re doing when we buy processed sweets or sugary sodas. It’s not our fault because they’re in our face all the time.

And in America and the Western world cultures, that’s just a gimme.

Plus, Vata bodies love sweets! Others do too, but it’s a given with a Vata. We were born with this desire that we can turn into a healthy one.

And you and I can survive on fruit and natural powder only sweets that are loaded with polyphenol antioxidants. I haven’t met a fruit yet that didn’t have antioxidant vitamins. 😊

This works over fighting willpower that never works. Because what you tell yourself “no” to only builds energy more toward the thought.

If you’re jonesing for southern-style Devils Food Cake, you’re not going to head for white cloud Angel Cake without a higher intervention. ☁️

Distraction and replacement are sweet answers for sugary and processed snack food cravings.

You can turn to plant-based foods, like popcorn for potato chips… and get into an activity that takes your mind off food, like a fasting habit or gardening.

If someone tells me they have a sweet tooth craving they think they could never satiate or change, I know that’s not true. It’s all made up in the mind.

You can live with a lower, healthy amount of sugar every day. That starts with your first meal where you break the fast or breakfast.

Easy Low-Sugar Plant Based Breakfast Ideas For Starters

For starters, opt for a protein. You can start with a protein shake if that fits your preferences like a layered drink that has protein powder.

As you age, your body need to increase your intake of essential amino acids to compensate for muscle loss.

Add a healthy fat like avocado that’s great when you break a fast, first thing at breakfast, or if you’ve been fasting overnight or longer.

During my catering work days, we always had a Crudite platter available for vegetarians. Raw veggies are a great way to prime the stomach first and add some roughage fiber that the gut needs.

Raw carrots, bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, and asparagus are great examples.

They’re easy to put together on a plate. And if you need a dipping sauce, you can always use a Greek yogurt with dill as a savory healthy beginning.

And if you take vitamins, you do better taking fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E, and K with some fat in your body. So it’s better to take those after or with your meal where you’ve had some avocado, oil, nut, or seeds in your system.

Black bean quinoa cereal. Both ingredients have protein. Add cocoa powder if you want brownie bite tastes and top with chia, flax, hemp, sunflower, etc.

Greek yogurt sundae. Add your whole fruits like banana and berries.

Sprinkle with your favorite nuts like sliced almonds, walnuts, or pistachios. Don’t be shy with your seeds. Cantaloupe and melon seeds loaded with vitamins are a nice vitamin addition too.

Oatmeal with apples or applesauce. If you’re leaning toward a little sweet taste, add Ceylon cinnamon (our Ayurvedic Vata go-to spice). This will set you up for a sweet bite without tipping the scales.

Chocolate avocado mousse. This is a great one you can blend up in seconds with dark cocoa and a ripe avocado.

Tasty anti-inflammatory chocolate avocado mousse recipe below. 👇

Main Points

Be easy on yourself.

Be open to give the plant-based breakfast ideas a try. Pick a few more of your favorite healthy ingredients such as a banana or an avocado and let your creative breakfast imagination go wild!

Don’t give up. Not creating a deadline or rules can be the magic formula that eliminates the pressure.

Change your words and thoughts. Say, “Yum this tastes great even when it tastes odd to you.” That helps your mind to agree with you when you’re trying to be healthy.

Then next time, introduce a new healthy food or spice. Let the odd new tastes take over until they win you over.

And if you want to learn how to add fasting to your sustainable healthy habits to eliminate snacking, sweets, and extra pounds, check out the free IF guide.

If you still have a sweet hankering, you can enjoy your plant-based breakfast ideas with a decadent aroma tea like the chocolate mint black tea I’m sipping on. 🧉 And you can pair with a healthy start.

Anti-Inflammatory Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
almond milk
unsweetened 70% cocoa (natural, not dutch processed)
raspberries
shredded coconut

Instructions

Blend milk, avocado, and cocoa.
Zhugh with raspberries. These are anti-inflammatory ingredient pairings.

Notes

To make this healthy version is 3 main ingredients: ripe avocado, almond milk, and unsweetened cocoa (garnished with raspberries and shredded coconut).

Share this

Earth Day Layered Oreo Plant Based Cold Brew Coffee

This is an evolving refreshing drink good for mornings and afternoons. You can see it start with defined drink layers.

As the iceberg ice cube melts, it’s blending into the drink that looks like the ocean.

It’s starting to get green. This is a lot like our icebergs melting, creating warming and climate change. Btw, this is an outdoor-allergy-free drink. 😊

This is the same drink put back in the freezer and brought back out the next day with a little more water (less ice cube).

Earth Day Layered Oreo Plant Based Cold Brew Coffee

This planet-reminding changing drink is a fun and delicious beverage.

Course beverage

Cuisine American

Ingredients

black cocoa
cold brew coffee
plant-based milks (almond milk, cashew milk, etc.)
gluten-free flour (coconut or almond flour)
blueberry tea
blueberries
Pandan (gel works best)

Instructions

Layer and freeze each layer before adding another layer.
Layer 1: milk
Layer 2: oreo cookie layer with black cocoa, gluten-free flour, and milk (or cream) that's more creamy and good for beverages.
Layer 3: cold blueberry tea
Layer 4: cold brew coffee (or coffee of choice)
Layer 5: milk
Add a few blueberries if you like.
Make plant-based pandan ice cube. Add pandan mixed with water and freeze
Add the ice cube to the top frozen layer.
Bring drink out to regular room temperature about 10-15 minutes before you want to consume if semi-frozen and 30 minutes or longer if frozen solid. Watch your planet beverage change before your very eyes! For kids, you can swap cocoa or chocolate milk for the coffee layer.

Share this

Slow Pace Life For Faster Growth

Slow pace life and living sounds like a snail boring description in this marathon journey we call Life. But actually the way to discover more of what you want in this life is found in those slower and often overemphasized silent sloooww moments where you can gather your thoughts in mindfulness.

baked alaska slice — This is enjoying a slow pace life where you can make your healthy-ish low-sugar cake and eat it too!… like this delightful Baked Alaska. Recipe below 🍰

On the flipside, if you get in the habit of being busy, you’ll find slow seasons as mundane in comparison. And that gives your ego the opportunity to make the difference a negative, when it’s actually a positive. For one, you lower stress that you can’t measure and that can add years to your life.

When you embrace slow seasons and dig deeper, you can find the joy of missing out of activities and discover more of you.

I know when I was younger I felt like all eyes were on me when the truth is people are concerned with their own lives. They’re not thinking of us as much as our naturally entering thoughts want us to think.

So focusing on ourselves gives us our healthy back. And at the end of the day and our lives, we’re the only ones we are guaranteed to be with.

Saying no to what’s not good for you is good. Only you as an evolved being know how to live your life wisely.

…Sometimes this can take seasons to embrace.

And when you go through the motions of enough busy seasons, you realize there’s an end to each season. The buildup can end up in letdown. And looking back, you gain wisdom and lessons learned that are invaluable for your future.

Summed of wisdom can follow with: it’s not about what you do in your day-to-day that matters most as today becomes a fast and fading memory tomorrow. You never re-live yesterday.

This type of discernment often comes later with years and experience so you don’t waste more time on things that don’t matter. Back in my earlier years like most my age, I measured achievements against the culture I grew up around that didn’t last.

An example: I started out going to public schools in the U.S. county where at the time I was growing up had the highest ranking standardized test scores in the nation… like the SATs taken in high school.

Living outside Washington DC that’s full of movers and shakers didn’t make slowing down a goal. The idea was to speed up and always be busy no matter what.

When you're younger, you can embrace the slow pace life where you don't get to impact the world with your gifts and talents until you're older and ready. Growing up in a DC area home is where it began for me.

Photo: This is the remodeled open skylit space in the house that I grew up in where my desk sat decades ago and I learned to type on an ancient typewriter in the 80s. And then picked up writing daily years later.

I gradually shook off the “busy” mentality to get to where I am today where being busy on purpose matters most.

And the Universe helped me by removing obstacles that at the time seemed like a mean joke. Because starting over seemed like a recurring theme. But being in those rough seasons and trying to gain traction, I grew. And I made other accomplishments that weren’t on my list.

Lessons Learned

I realized life well-lived isn’t meant to be a linear path, going up and up. It’s more like up and out, and sometimes back down. And navigating adversity and new starts help you with now what? situations.

Being a late bloomer can actually help you. If you didn’t peak too quickly (or having peaked yet!), you didn’t miss or haven’t missed out!

Your experiences in between build you up to what you need for your dreams to turn out to be a dream come true (and not a letdown).

In your time, you’ll appreciate when you are fully spiritually ready to embrace what is meant to be yours! 🎉 Remember the turtle in the slow pace life marathon wins the race. 🐢

A turtle cookie is a sweet slow pace life mascot.

When I entered my new start in college, it was eye-opening as that was the first time I realized students came from totally different background circumstances.

Before then, I took high school courses and learned things prior that other people who came from other places in the U.S. had never experienced and that was shocking to me at the time.

I needed those eye openers to embrace moving down south, a slow pace life more on my terms.

There, I was immediately struck with how politics didn’t suffocate the air. And I was able to appreciate a slower pace life.

With new environment and time, I realized that this life is more than what our resumes and awards say about us.

A calmer, slow pace life has other benefits too like you actually are mindful of what you’re doing or watching in the moment. That brings joy.

The moment is not a blur like outfit changes to the next activity that’ll come and go and you may not have fully enjoyed because your headspace was busy preoccupied.

These are a few ways to embrace the slow pace life and wisdom sooner when you’re in the busy seasons:

Slow cook your foods. I’ve had microwaves in and out of my life. And when I had one, I always used the equipment. But when I didn’t have one, I realized I would pause to think about things in life (mindfulness) when I was watching over food heating or cooking. It’s a habit that can be changed with or without a simple piece of equipment.

Take a moment to take deep breaths. We can never be over-reminded. We have nothing if we don’t have our breath. If you ever feel heart palpitations, this is a way to calm those down:

Listen to your inner voice and what’s it telling you. When we have nagging thoughts, they usually mean something needs to be addressed for our peace. In those times, it’s better to get out of our head voices and listen to the higher channels.

Take time for yourself away from people. We act differently when we’re around people and social environments than by ourselves. We take on their energy and want to naturally blend in with ours. But it’s hard to find your authentic self in those head spaces when trying to please others.

It’s good to take some solo time out that’ll speed up your personal growth. That’s when you can reflect on what matters in your life, so you don’t end up with regrets. And preparing today for tomorrow is the secret to getting the life you want.

Taste your tea when you first put your lips on your mug. Enjoy the aroma. Using Ayurveda methods, smelling a scent or spice first, is a good way to see if it’s pleasant. What’s pleasant to your eyes doesn’t mean it’s favorable to your body.

Then when you come back another time, you may feel something different for the same experience. Our bodies are constantly changing and sending us signals. When you’re aware and sensitized to your own senses, you can better influence how your day goes.

So next time, give your food a good acknowledging stir before you take a bite.

Do mindful eating or intuitive eating. In intuitive eating, it’s all about slowing down and mindfulness. And when you do that, you pick up different notes and palates. You become more open to different tastes.

Take a few bites and imagine the food source. Where does the food come from before the grocery store? Someone if not you from your garden sourced the food. For plant-based foods, those come from the land and were picked by someone. Many food travel shows teach us about regional food sources and how certain cultures prepare dishes that can make us slow down and appreciate.

Get rid of check list to-do items that never needed to be completed. Lists are great for groceries but for life direction, not so much. You end up zipping through the list.

The goal (of lists) is to get to the end. And in slow down, we want to experience and enjoy the middle.

With lists you can also end up working on things that were never important to begin with. Those slow down your progress. If you have a slow pace life, you remember what’s important in the moment as your miracle memory (or spirit) prompts you.

And finally, take time to look at old photos or read journals you wrote. Try to remember who you were back then. You want to see a new and improved you and not one that has aging appearance effects. You’re aging in wisdom beauty and a better life. That’s something to celebrate today. 🎉

I love looking at old photos and thinking what I didn’t know back then! And now I have so many more great experience memories.

We all wish we could go back in time for some nostalgic reasons, but we can also be glad we don’t have to go back to those testing seasons.

In today’s heated seasons, you can easily make your own soft serve ice cream. And can add to a celebrated cake to enjoy a slice of life today. 🎂

DBGB near restaurants where I event planned

Slow pace life waiting for Baked Alaska to freeze.

Print Recipe

Baked Alaska (Oven Toasting Method)

Baked Alaska is my favorite cake hands down and you can make your own cake, meringue and ice cream. I heard about the dessert working in catering and waited until I was ready to have the best cake slice of my life at DC's DBGB restaurant in 2015.

Course desserts

Cuisine American

Equipment

bowl to fit the ice cream shape
cake stand or plate

Ingredients

meringue shell
ice cream of choice
cake of choice

Instructions

You can make or prepare ice cream and meringue a day ahead or a few hours in advance.
Bake cake. Let cake cool and then add cold ice cream layer and then meringue layer.
Freeze at least 2 hours in the back of the freezer (but without icicles forming)
Lower top oven shelf low enough to cover the height of the Baked Alaska plus a minimum of 6 inches from top of oven to broil.
Pull Baked Alaska out of freezer and into oven. Broil for several minutes until there's a toasted top. Do not turn or move the cake (optional) in the hot oven without turning OFF the oven first and then wait for broil oven cool down before closing oven door and turning oven/broil setting back on (optional). Watch broiling carefully for safety reasons and so you don't over toast the cake. This method won't be as even as using a handheld baking-friendly torch, but the top will be toasted pretty!

Share this

Butterfly Pose Wellness For Tight Hips Opener

Butterfly Pose is a much needed pose for tight inner hips and hip opening. This article is about how to get the most out of the pose and good exercises you can do daily to help open your hips when they don’t want to or you want to keep them flexible. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Which btw, our bodies are natural wonders and so is the total eclipse that gave solar chills and happy tears this week, that I’m still reeling over and you can too days later.

…Even if you’re not spiritual, the palpitable feeling can be deeper than even seeing the phenomenon. And if you want the lasting effects, you can make and enjoy a cake that celebrates the moon and eclipse. 🌘 Cake recipe and steps below.

chocolate eclipse cake. — This is a healthy chocolate cake representation of the moon where you can add your Baily’s beads too.

But first things first: when you have tight hips, you know it immediately when you move around. And I didn’t know about this because I didn’t feel it until one day.

And like the Butterfly name implies, the pose looks like opened butterfly wings. Or if you speak in chef language like I often do, you know what butterflying means on a plate. Butterfly pose looks also like an open lotus flower. 🪷

Opening your hips this way is a metaphor for opening yourself up and while you’re sitting still in patience and peace.

In life, butterflies wait before they can flutter about. It’s one of the fascinating creatures out there in nature I think and a symbol of transformation. They are fragile like we are. 🦋

Similarly, we start out as caterpillars in life crawling along and hopefully like most, make it to adulthood. Then we transform into our adult butterfly bodies.

As sweet reward, we get tastes of honey along our journey and feed back honey nectar to our community. We contribute to the environment we’re in where we spend time. And this is a metaphor for making our individual impact in the world that’s one of our highest callings.

this is a real butterfly pose in life next to a caterpillar. — From caterpillar to adult butterfly is a natural transformation And seeing them together one day is a phenomenon. Can you see the butterfly in the photo?

Butterflies are unique in colors and design patterns like the Peacock Butterfly commonly found in Europe or Asia, or a Monarch Butterfly that I see often in North America.

They are something we can globally appreciate like the sun, the moon, and the solar eclipse.

Butterfly Pose When Hips are Tight

If your hips are tight, to open your Butterfly pose, do it gradually. Don’t force it along.

Use metaphors of appreciating time and never giving up persistence to help you on this journey.

You can use a block or a towel to raise your thigh until your hip loosens up (one side is usually tighter) and you can get to your ideal Butterfly pose.

Maybe someday your knees and top half of your leg touch the mat, or they don’t. Some people are naturally more flexible in those areas.

…But a good goal would be to not feel any tension or pain in the hip muscle, inner hip, or groin areas. Both men and women seem to have this common issue.

If you sit a lot this could be a reasonable cause. And if it shows up one day, it could be a new habit position you were sitting in that simply needs to be adjusted so you can restore.

In the meanwhile, you can complement Butterfly Pose with Triangle Pose and Pigeon Pose that are other yoga poses that will help open up in slightly different angles.

Also try the Seated Spinal Twist.

As usual in yoga, one side is usually tighter than the other for different poses, so workout a little longer for the side that needs more TLC.

Balance and alignment comes from asymmetrical efforts. So if for balance ⚖️, this means intention or laser focus on the side or area that needs attention.

Another yoga pose that can really help is a 5 star yoga pose on the mat with your legs straddled open to each side, and arms under and through your legs.

If you’re not familiar with the more common star pose, your head arms and legs make up the 5 points.

Doing this stretch faced down on the mat will also give you a good stretch through your legs and arms.

And combining physical therapy type exercise that you can do at home will help. These often use repetition vs. weights. And repeated repetitions.

One of the best exercises I found is the side hip abductor exercise that you can do on your mat. You turn to one side and bend your knees and then lift the top leg up and down for 10 repetitions or more at a time.

This helps the inner hip to open. And should feel good. It’s also a killer butt toning exercise!

A second exercise is: sit on the side of a regular height bed or a chair that allows a hip-leg to anchor straight down on the floor either straight up perpendicular or slightly shifted to the back while the other hip-leg (the tight one) is on the bed or chair.

Take the tight hip-leg (on the bed) and bend, so that you can see the bottom of your foot. You should feel a light stretch (that does not hurt) in the tight hip area that’s slightly different than on a mat.

If there’s any pain, you should stop as you may have injured the area somehow. Remember, we’re fragile like butterflies.

And if you don’t feel anything in your hips, that’s something to be grateful for.. and now you’re more aware of what to do and what people (aka older people) are talking about when they say they have tight hips… Not feeling your hips is something else to celebrate. 🎉

Now, this is the chocolate total eclipse cake (of the heart) recipe that you can make to embrace life and wonder.

I could’ve made this a vanilla cake 🌕, but chocolate is more decadent and mysterious like the moon. 🌚

Print Recipe

Total Eclipse Chocolate Cake of the Heart

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Equipment

scale (optional)

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups combined flour (plain and gluten-free flours are good)
1/3 cup sugar (healthy version)
1 tbsp espresso coffee (optional)
3 tbsp baking cocoa (70% dark cocoa for healthy)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white vinegar
6 tbsp oil (coconut oil, or light EVOO for healthy)
1 cup cold water
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
matcha powder, beet powder, and ginger powder and edible candy pearl (decorations)

Instructions

Combine ingredients. For two 8" pans, you'll want to double the ingredient amounts (e.g. 3 cups of flour). Bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes or until a clean toothpick skewer comes out.
To give the moon look, use a tea diffuser or strainer to alternate decorate with color food powders (Matcha green tea, beet red, ginger yellow) in desired spots. You can add edible pearls randomly to represent the moon craters (that create Baily's beads effect for eclipse enthusiasts).

Share this

Pollen Count Today Near Me and Spring Allergies Hope

Pollen count today near me is a report you want to take a look at if you are spring or year-round allergy prone these days. And I share tips in this article on how to manage allergies better with our constantly changing earth and where we have hope.

healthy pasture-raised organic eggs and the pollen count are related on our planet. — Pasture-raised, organic eggs are one of the healthy foods.

Because our beloved planet needs a restore, Amen!

If you’re like many of us, you’re feeling the effects. It’s not just seasonal allergies anymore… it’s year round allergy effects. And if you’re wondering if your new strange, non-serious, unexplainable body symptoms are related, they probably are. 🌎

They are for me too… I never had allergies before and then started feeling the effects in spring and fall from the pollen count today near me. And that gradually became winter and summer also.

DC had its highest pollen count today near me report in February that’s before the spring fever time. And why the Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms that I grew up around bloomed earlier this year from previous years. 🌸 I remember one year where there were few blooms and I saw one tree near me.

We keep topping new records.

And this affects quality of life. You learn this quickly by observing the patterns. Like I noticed when it reaches over 70 degrees, my skin became thirsty and needs moisturizing self-care love.

By being aware, I can do something preventative.

And you can do the same with your symptoms.

There’s hope.

At one point, the rumor was that allergy effects last for 7 years.

…And in belief and hope in relief, I can attest in my case, that’s about right.

From 2015 to 2023 I felt the effects bad where I would go from my normal feeling self (no pollen allergy effects)… to whoosh my thinking mind was congested and felt like it was hit with a wind storm.

Which btw, gusty wind is not a Vata’s friend as it can knock us out of balance (especially as we already carry wind sameness properties).

Those seasons affected me in my daily activites where I couldn’t just sit outside that I used to love to do (and most of us do).

Because if I did, the next day I would pay the price, feeling out of it in a brain fog way. And I didn’t want to take a blocking histamine pill every day. I felt the blockage as… I couldn’t sneeze at all.

And as bodies adapt, these days I sneeze a lot and have a new appreciation for the self-cleansing interruption.

Likely, you or someone in your household feels the allergy effects in some way. Sometimes it’s our four-legged family members. 🐾

Below are a few survival tips to make the ride a little better until your body adjusts or you find a new way.

…And as we wait for our world to discover new ways to restore our natural world, and change how we handle our modern world like: food agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing.

These are major areas that affect the climate crisis connected to allergies. And places that used to be disconnected from these effects, like California, are now feeling the dust.

Even though there are more trees (that primarily contribute to the green spring pollen dust), being near the mountain air feels better.

And better than in a busy city or beach that this body can attest to… or densely populated with mass transportation pollution.

Observingly, places with less people like Norway and the Adirondacks had less pollen effects.

You’d have to test out on your body… just in case you are considering relocating, those are some life-giving things to consider.

One thing you can do in the States is research what the pollen levels are and which ones bother your systems.

Tip #1: Look at the pollen count today near me reports.

So many people I’ve talked to don’t even know that this snapshot report exists.

How I use the report is: I put in my zip code and I see which days are lowest pollen count in the week that is available on the pollen phone app. The daily report can also be found on the site.

Then looking at the week, I immediately know low count days are predicted rainy days. So it’s not accurate as weather prediction is never 100% accurate (and sometimes off).

So, what you can glean from this information is that each pollen season impacted has roughly the same type, quality, and quantity of pollen every day until the pollen season shifts.

If the count is over, say 10 that’s high on any given day, then you know what to do preventatively for that season (or use the tips below to help you).

And you can take a look at what the culprits are such as elm, juniper, and maple trees these days in certain areas and what I see on my report.

Tip #2: Invest in and turn the air purifier on high. This helps significantly for spaces you spend a lot of time in like your bedroom or where you sleep, and in an office space where you work.

If you work around others, you’ll be the envy of your office mates as they get to feel the clean air effects too around you. 💨

Be sure to use HEPA filters that catch small particles like the green ones circulating around (and mold that’s more prevalent in the autumn).

I’ve had an air purifier beside me since around 2000 when it was discovered that an office I worked in had mold behind the walls. The air purifier invested in was a life saver, and I’ve never lived without one since. You appreciate close-up your healthy breathing daily in those instances.

Changing the filters and vacuuming often on schedule make a difference too in the quality of filtering you’re getting.

Tip #3: Do a weeky nasal cleanse with a neti pot, warm water, and sea salt mixture. If you battle with sinus infections often or seasonally, this is a preventative game changer.

Remember, you can’t change the air in this bubble life we live in, but you can change your effects.

That’s one thing we all knew early on in life: air quality affects quality of life.

New Generation Hope for Our Health

And we also picked up: what we knew in the past isn’t going to take us to our future. Or today’s mantra,“What got us here, won’t get us there.”

And while we’re cleaning out our sinuses, we can breathe in some good, hopeful vibes for our planet future with the kids of today, Gen Z.

Born with an innate earthly duty and social media, they may want to have a life mission to impact a fragile world that needs environmental repair. And that’s something we can be optimistically hopeful for. 🎉

…Maybe that’s your kiddos or you that’s saying “school me, please!” so something can be done about the environmental world chaos. In the meanwhile, we can bring back “act local, think global.” And that includes the foods we eat. Like eggs. Not these lawn Easter eggs. But edible eggs.

Because healthy eggs we eat are low histamine (anti-allergy) super foods loaded with vitamins that many of us can rally around, whether school or adult-age. You can make 2-minute easy poached eggs daily or celebrate eggs on occasion.

And if you get tired of eggs, maybe you can make your inspired waffles with this recipe that has a healthy twist (plus an egg 😉).

Print Recipe

easy waffles with healthier ingredients in minutes.

Easy Waffles In Minutes (Healthy Tips)

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk per waffle
1 egg per waffle
1/2 cup combined flour (use more almond flour and some AP flour for healthier waffle batter)
1 tsp oil (can reduce oil of choice and use light EVOO for healthier version)
Greek yogurt
Berries (optional)

Instructions

Add milk of choice to bowl or Pyrex measuring glass for easy measurement and one-”bowl” mixing.
Add egg, flour of choice (combine almond flour and ap flour for healthy), oil.
Pour in waffle iron maker and cook until golden-medium brown and is easy to remove in one piece with a fork.
Let cool and dollop with Greek yogurt and fresh berrries.

Share this