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Category: Ayurvedic living

Using Ayurvedic Ways For Calm and Balance (Part 1)

living an Ayurveda calm and balanced lifestyle
…I was told 🙂 I should show my face more, so here I am checking in on my avocado plants They look good 🥑

…Ok, today I’m sharing about Ayurvedic ways and living, my favorite topic.

This is a longer blog post than I usually write, so grab a beverage and get comfy because today is about getting calm and balanced.

Because getting consistent daily calm and balance is achievable with Ayurveda… and I believe has never been more needed in our world.

And yet in America, calm and balance are seen as nice-to-have intentions that aren’t built into our busy lives.

We’re used to running into stress, and at times have grown numb to our underlying stressful ways of living… despite short-lived self-care practices, unwinding on weekends, and happy hour-type fun that aren’t enough for our health and wellness.

Finding daily balance is dismissed in priorities and daily noise. It’s often seen as unobtainable or overmentioned. Plus living sustainably whole and healthy is not excitingly trendy …But when you’re 100, it will be!

And getting mind-body balance is part of the Ayurvedic ways, and what most people need to be the best version of themselves that would transform the daily stress and busy overwhelm into healthy and happy lives. That’s a mouthful that says it all.

…And with the right insight, a whole and healthy lifestyle is attainable by this or next season. And even better yet, using consistent balance as a predictable strategy springboard for better things ahead in life! (More on this point below.)

…You know you can’t always trust the external world to come through for you, but you can count on your intuitive and intelligent mind-body that has better answers and insight to your health. 

Your mind-body follows you along the ride of your life’s journey and its good health is the difference maker to your getting the life you want, that can free you from what’s holding you back.

Like, living with accumulated stress (linked to inflammations and aging) is not doing you and your mind-body any favors… even though that’s baked into the Western world culture, lifestyle, and the air we breathe.

And a common reason why two people at age 45 look like they’re decades apart in age.

In a 2018 study, an international group of researchers led by scientists at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that adopting 5 healthy habits could extend life expectancy by 14 years for women and 12 years for men:

  • eating a diet high in plants and low in fats
  • exercising at a moderate to vigorous level for several hours a week
  • maintaining a healthy body weight
  • not smoking
  • consuming no more than one alcoholic drink a day for women and two for men

Ayurvedic Ways For a Heatlhy Lifestyle

We know a healthy lifestyle that takes care of the body is necessary for longevity and to prevent debilitating diseases.

And having or starting a stress-free, calm, and happy life optimizes your health in the mind-body connection.

It’s never too late to prioritize your physical and mental health.

One way to improve your life is to pay attention to your daily moods and symptomatic flare-ups. And not just brush them aside. When you’re 20 that’s fine, but as you get closer to mid-life, the accumulated wear and tear shows up.

And moods are subtle beginning signs of your balanced mind-body drifting, and what’s impacting your health inside you.

The Mind-Body Connection and The Past

Ayurvedic ways is all about the mind-body remedies for balanced living. Your mind-body is a part of you, but you are not the mind-body. You aren’t your thoughts, your gut, or arm.

Then there’s the mind-body connection based on the concept that your thoughts can be connected to body symptoms and your physical health. Like acne sprouts due to stress.

But not so quickly obvious are your past thoughts or traumas that show up in signs of aging (wrinkles and aging maladies), and your inflammations. The dots are not so easily connected. But they  play havoc on your calm and balance, and mind-body.

…All unbeknownst to you.

And when you carry baggage such as buried childhood wounds (thoughts), they overflow into and affect your daily current health and life, through the mind-body connection. They still show up in the workplace, in your current reactions and attitudes.

It’s invisible trauma you may not know you’re carrying, but your mind recorded and has not forgotten.

And if triggered, can show up when you least expect, and where you don’t recognize the link to past trauma.

And, then there are some past traumas that you are fully aware of, and you may have never felt comfortable sharing with anyone. Or you haven’t purged the feelings enough to get all the wound hurt out of your system yet, so you can scar heal.

TED Talk presenters who share a trauma story rehearse over and over, and in the process, they get the poison out even if their wound was decades ago!

While Shark Tank presenters are asked on the fly about their personal tragedies related to their business, where tears are shed on the spot and healing begins or continues.

And that can be part of what frees them when they’re present, let go, and let their guard down. When trauma is acknowledged, a person can heal back to their natural essence.

Your Natural Mind-Body Now

Now is the present. And the present is a gift. It’s where you can be most aware and find your calm and joy.

And if you add being balanced, then you’re unstoppable!

Being balanced in Ayurvedic ways means leaning into your natural and primary mind-body dosha. That’s the way you’re wired.

“Natural” here also means favorable to the mind-body.

Like your favorite foods that you naturally like. Or your desire to do a certain exercise. Those are natural to you, but not to everyone else.

…And here earlier I was leaning into my Vata for a late afternoon sweet snack (…you know it’s healthy! 😉).

A healthy snack like these Samoa Bars is an example of Ayurvedic ways.
I shared the recipe last week for my healthy, no-bake Samoa bars… and I made a new batch that I’m enjoying for longer than the 5-minute break it took to make 😊

And Vata could be your natural way too, but we all have Vata in us that can throw us off balance.

And same goes for the mind. One way to get off balance can be from what we think of as our natural thoughts. The negative ones are not helpful if you put energy behind them that impact your mind-body. You’re best to ignore or replace those ASAP if they’re not helping you noodle out a productive solution.

Like… a negative thought pops up in your head and you want to blurt out what you’re thinking, but in a professional environment or amongst strangers, you don’t do it when you’re unsure as you don’t know how it will be perceived.

And later on in reflection, you’re glad you didn’t say anything. Or else you wish you had said something and now have slight regret that you missed the moment.

…Which can then turn into a negative thought that turns into negative energy.

Holding onto negative energy no matter how it sticks, spills into the mind-body and can cost you time and energy. That can turn into an attitude, mood, and imbalances that show up in the mind-body.

So it’s best to just nip it in the bud.🌹

Restoring Our Mind-Body Imbalances, Moods, and Ayurvedic Ways 

If we’re lifelong learners, we’re constantly wanting to grow and improve, and recalibrating our balance makes good sense.

With those intentions, you can ask yourself:

Do I have… repeated anxiety, anger, burnout, tiredness, lazy mind or body tendencies, irritation, or excessive worry? …holding onto these types of moods and feelings can cause stress.

As a habit, we can check in with ourselves often and daily to see what’s off, just like checking the daily weather in our own part of the world keeps us on our toes …it was actually hailing small ice chunks in my neck of the woods over the weekend (in May!). 🌨

…And if we zoom out of our world, we see a bigger global world in organized chaos and crisis that affects us.

Gradual shift is omni-present happening everywhere and all the time, even when we can’t see. And that grows into stressors on earth, and to us and our mind-body.

For example, take a framed wall photo that you’re constantly straightening. Over time, it naturally shifts and becomes crooked. And in a new house especially, when the living earth below is still shifting.

But you know how to easily straighten the photo frame with a light touch tilt to bring it back to alignment the way it should be.

Or, you could “permanently” iron-clad anchor the photo to the wall, so the framed photo doesn’t shift again. But then one day, you decide to take down the photo to paint the wall behind it or to change the picture…  or you completely move to a new house.

The framed wall picture is just one change away from its original “permanent” state. And like life, we don’t know what will happen next that can be stress-causing, or when our life could use some healthy adjustments  even when we don’t have awareness.

Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, from earth-shattering situations to slight tilts, like slowly growing bored.

And change can help spice it up. But we also need some permanence for balance and alignment. Even if it’s temporary.

Balance is the natural desired order of this world and of your body, and mind-body.

And adopting Ayurvedic ways (the science of life) as a healthy way back works to bring back the order in us.

It works in the modern Western world to restore, prevent, and bring back natural balance. And it works for those who live in noisy cities as well as slower-paced towns, as all roads can lead to a desired healthy life taking different paths.

And that’s what I did and do. And you can too!

It doesn’t have to be just yoga or meditation… those are just a couple daily common practical household practices. 🧘🏻‍♀️…and maybe you didn’t know those were Ayurvedic ways 😉

Ayurvedic ways could be new or foreign to you, as it may sound like an ancient mystical or woo-woo set of Eastern healing practices. And it was to me too in the beginning.

But how I powerfully use it today, is as a West meets East approach to healthy living, with the West running the show in our busy American lives.

And that’s just scratching the surface on the description for all the benefits it adds.

One simple health benefit that’s achievable, is to change the course of our annoying mind-body symptoms daily through our lifestyle choices. That could be our higher standard goal and preventative norm so long-term stressors and symptoms don’t settle in.

And doing so helps your health and teaches your mind-body you’re on the same team 😊. That’s integrating Ayurvedic ways into daily balance.

Always Invest In Yourself (You and Your Mind-Body)

Another way you can help yourself is not accepting “just getting through the season.” That’s not effective ayurvedic ways in practice. You can do something today to start restoring or help along your natural healthy self as best as it can shine.

Only when we’re not conscious, do we not have a say in our lives.

Instead, adopt the norm of living each season blissfully, and enjoy daily!

Remember the old saying about your life isn’t a dress rehearsal. 🎬

You can be joyful and find joy every day (and not just some days!) even amongst the chaos. And while you’re going through difficult times.

Each year can have its challenges, but that’s part of growth and change. As you become more resilient (feeling less stressed about situations) that will help your health, balance, and calm.

When you get daily balanced health, you get the opportunity to show up as your best self, and unleash creativity every day that you may not even know you have today.

…And, find your purpose and true calling, that will give you your greatest life satisfaction and lead to your best foot-forward life.

And that can also lead to your leaving a miserable day job for a better-chosen life that fits you uniquely where work doesn’t feel like work, if that’s what your heart desires. You don’t end up where you started or in an unhappy middle.

…So, that’s what I have for you today to hopefully inspire and encourage you this season and the upcoming ones that will be your best ones yet (in your belief).

Next week I will share part 2 about how you can learn more about Ayurvedic ways (and even if you’re not sure exactly what it is today), and how you can start uniquely implementing mind-body restoring techniques into practice if it suits you. Talk then! 🧡

100 Best Yoga Poses Celebrating 100th Blog Post

It’s celebrational Easter holy week. I’m also happy to announce (my and) this 100th  blog post lands this week. Double holy cow! I thought it’d be fun to celebrate by listing 100 best yoga poses 🎉

100 best yoga poses to celebrate 100 blog posts
Easter and 100 blog posts deserve confetti sprinkles 🧁

But before mentioning the 100 yoga poses, I just wanted to wish happy birthday to anyone who already had a birthday celebration this year. I try to find an excuse to send a cake whenever I can 🎂

Even if it’s just an emoji. But sentiment and kidding aside, these days, it’s easy to be reminded with showering confetti “Happy Birthday!” emoji messages that bring us a ‘lil joy.

I think of the ultimate birthday as those who have reached the 100-year-old mark, who I think deserve their own special confetti emoji. That milestone is definitely worth commemorating. You’ve got to admire Centenarians who have endured and thrived through life’s marathon.

Besides seeing and participating in what their friends and families (young and old) are doing, some of the longest-living people have been naturally active and practicing yoga all their lives.

In some cultures, they get up and off the floor (or out of their sitting position) on a daily mat in one fell swoop as they did in younger years. And that’s just another reason for them to get back up and go out and appreciate the day.

Some Centenarians can even still remember facts and figures that younger decade folks can’t. And they can retell stories of their youth like a historical tale.

They breathe purpose daily (…and have breathed about 1.4 million more breaths than a 30-year-old).

And whatever age you’re at, you can too with your purposeful breath and yoga moves.

Here’s a list of 10 yoga articles to inspire your specific moves and journey:

Yoga is amazing because of the benefits for the mind-body connection: where the mind and body “talk” to each other. If we’re lucky and focused we pick up on the cues as a witness to our mind-bodies.

This is an area that traditional Western doctors aren’t necessarily trained on. It originated from Ayurveda, an eastern life science perspective, that’s made its way slowly to the Western world (and I started practicing in 2008 when I became aware).

Over the past decade, we’ve learned that the prevention of chronic diseases and inflammation in the body is connected to better mental health and less stress we carry.

And we can often tell by our anxious, irritated, or lethargic moods.

Sometimes it’s hard to do yoga until we get in a balanced mood,  even though we know if we did yoga, we’d get there sooner. We can get in our way.

So, in case you need to overcome that or need a dose of moving or getting going inspiration, I’ve listed 100 best yoga poses that are timeless reminders, challenging, and fun (I think so anyway!).

I included some quick encouraging words for each pose that come to mind. They include thoughts of when to do the pose, reminders, or intentions that could be useful for you as they are for me. Some poses are better done when you have more energy.

And it helps if have a known purpose for doing the pose, to help be motivated. We can all use a good metaphor reminder in our daily lives.

So here we go…

Standing best yoga poses: 

1.      Sun salutations – reminder: life is constantly changing, and you keep moving. This is a good series of poses to start the day with, like just before you have your first glass of water for the day

2.      Warrior I – reminder: feel empowered to take on the day

3.      Warrior II – reminder: take up more space

4.      Warrior III – reminder: focus on moving forward

5.      Sun Warrior – reminder: don’t forget to look up and stay open

6.      Dancer pose – reminder: you’ve got this day with your calm and grace, and letting go of the past. Today is a new day 🌱

7.      Tree pose – reminder: you’re resilient and unshaken even in uncertain times

8.      Mountain pose – intention: peace and reaching higher

9.      Heart center hand – reminder: focus more on what’s in your heart and get out of your head if you’ve feeling stuck

10.   Chair – good for when you want to feel grounded

11.   Triangle looking up – good for seeing different perspectives

12.   Lunge – reminder: stay productive

13.   Humble Warrior – reminder: lessen ego and pride

14.   5-Pointed Star – do when you want to feel balanced

15.   Eagle – good for when you feel on top of the world

16.   Tree with hands straight in the air – reminder: you’re a unique tree

17.   Tree with hands at heart center – feel centered and connected

18.   Tree with hands in prayer pose behind your back – intention: feel more spiritual

19.   Half-moon – do this pose when you’re feeling daring (tip: you can do this against the wall so you have back support, and you can use a yoga block)

20.   Extended leg stretch – intention: feel energetic

21.   Bird of Paradise – intention: be more mindful for the best outcome

22.   Forward bend – intention: feel earthly

23.   Standing half-bend – reminder: pause, but keep going because you’re almost there

24.   Crescent lunge – reminder: be flexible

25.   Pyramid Pose – do when you need more structure (feeling scatter minded, i.e. Vata mind)

Seated poses:

26.      Boat – do when you want to feel less grounded

27.      Pigeon – intention: feel less stress stretching out common areas of tension (leg, back, shoulders)

28.      Seated spinal twist – reminder: the past is behind you

29.      Seated forward bend stretch – reminder: keep challenging yourself and you may just surprise yourself with how far you can go

30.      Seated side angle – reminder: try a different way

31.      Lotus – intention: peace, and serenity

32.      Baby Cradle – reminder: you’re in control of your body

33.      Cow Face – reminder: it’s possible even when it’s hidden

34.      Staff – reminder: sit up tall and be disciplined

35.   Thunderbolt – do when you have problems, and you can reverse engineer to come up with solutions

36.   Butterfly pose (Bound angle) – reminder: you’re evolving

37.   Seated knee hug – reminder: you are loved

38.   Staff – do when you want to straighten your back and remind yourself that your back is an important part for your body’s support. (reminder: build strong abs)

Side best yoga poses: 

39.      Side angle – do when you need a break or stretch

40.      Extended side angle – intention: stretch your mind

41.      Side crow – do when you feel adventurous; one side is probably easier than the other and that’s your strength

42.      Side plank – do when you feel strong

43.      Falling Star – tip: like half-moon is great to do against a wall when you’re first starting out so you can lean further. Intention: feel free and creative

Front face down best yoga poses: 

44.      Cobra – reminder: you’re making progress

45.      Sphinx – reminder: you can do anything you want

46.      Upward Dog – reminder: you’re almost there!

47.      Turtle – reminder: stay steady on the course

48.      Bow – reminder: your hands, head, and feet are all closely connected

Lay down poses (starting with back flat on the mat): 

49.      Bridge – tip: use a block on the small of your back and feel grounded

50.      Fish – reminder: relax and let go of heavy problems

51.      Lay down spinal twist to one side – when you do this on each side, you see a different part of the room or space you’re in and is a good reminder that you have different options from different perspectives

52.      Corpse – intention: be stress-free

53.      Knees to chest (knee hug) – reminder: of self-love

54.      Half locust with one leg slightly lifted: reminder -it can feel strange but still be helpful

55.      Through the hole stretch – do when you feel tight like from driving or sitting, or when you feel uptight

56.      Spider laying down – intention: holding onto your purpose but letting go of how you’ll get there

On all 4’s: 

57.      Inverted plane – reminder: great for bringing your shoulders back in mindfulness

58.      Downward dog – intention: feel the day in earthly roots

59.      Downward dog with one leg lifted – intention: enjoy the day by doing something new

60.     Cat – do when you’re feeling fearless

61.      Cow – good for feeling balanced

62.      Balanced cat reaching out one arm and opposite leg

Back challenge: you can arch backward relying on all 4s

63.      Backward Bend – do when you’re feeling energetic and youthful

64.      Wheel – and you go higher to see and feel new possibilities

Front challenge: you may never do a full handstand, but you can get both feet off the ground

65.      Crow – intention: strength (you’re stronger than you think)

66.      Crane – and you can stretch higher

67.      Peacock – reminder: you can get over the limitations you have

68.      Firefly – reminder: you can do something different to light up the world. You may feel like a kid again doing this one (one of my fave poses and I have happy memories of catching fireflies  )

Inversion best yoga poses: 

69.      Shoulder stand – do when you’re feeling moderately energized

70.      Half shoulder stand – do when you want to feel energized

71.      Plow – reminder: encouragement that you can take two steps back and come out ahead

72.      Legs up the wall – intention: feel supported by the environment around you 

Resting best yoga poses:

73.      Child’s Pose – reminder: you don’t have to be doing something every minute of the day. It’s not how busy you are (something I had to unlearn)

74.      Hare – intention: purposefully resting

Other inspirational best yoga poses:

75.      Inclined plane – when you’re feeling like you want to get off the ground or you’re excited to start a new project

76.      Plank – intention: building daily strength for any trials or difficulties you’re going through

77.      Camel – reminder: let go

78.      Dolphin – reminder: we’re born with natural abilities

79.      Splits – intention: flexibly grow daily and watch progress

80.      Happy Baby – do when you want to feel safe and carefree

81.      Swan – reminder: have daily grace for those areas you can’t change

82.      Hero – reminder: we can all be a hero in our ways in our lives serving and doing what we do

83.    Neck rolls – intention: calming and releasing mind tension

84.   Neck side to side – intention: take a moment to relax

85.   Shoulder shrug – intention: be less stressed (letting the weight fall off your shoulders)

86.   Frog – intention: feel youthful and free to spread out

87.   Garland – reminder: take a break;  good for when you’re feeling unsure or in between energetic and tired

88.   Locust – reminder: try something different or take on a new project

89.  Wild Thing – intention: let go of worries and enjoy more

90.   Goddess – intention: feel ready for the world

91.   Swan dive – intention: go with the flow

92.   Cactus arms – reminder: take time off

93.   Airplane – intention: feel free and in control at the same time

94.   Spider with feet and hands on floor – reminder: you’re a beautifully unique creature

And then these sounds and breathing pair well with yoga poses and intentions:

95.   Om – making the sound clears nasal passages along with mind and body. Try a variation by using your mouth to create an ah-oh-mmm sound sequence. Intention: peace and living stress-free

In yoga, breathwork is super important and great for calming. If you get heart palpitations from anxiety, these are good breath exercises to refer to and do.

For all of us, staying mindful of breath gets us in a good reminder habit to be healthy-minded. And when you get a good breath of air you can send that energy through your mind and body, to help improve both mental and physical health.

Your nose acts as a natural filtration system. If you regularly breathe through your mouth when you sleep or if you have nasal congestion and obstructed nasal passages, you may want to look for solutions to help you breathe out of your nose regularly.

And these are the special breath exercises you can do with yoga:

96.   Sounding breath – this includes long and slow breaths while laying down, so is good to do when you’re getting in and out of bed. Reminder: you’re alive and able to take purposeful breaths

97.   Breath of fire – while sitting, exhale out short and quick breaths from your nose (like a fire-breathing dragon that doesn’t exist) until all your air from your diaphragm feels expelled. And then fill back up gradually like a balloon. Daily reminder: you’re a miracle with automatic breaths. You can control your breathing using your respiratory muscle, your diaphragm, that sits just below your two life-giving organs: your heart and lungs

98.   Bellows breath – do this one when you’re in standing mountain pose with hands at heart center (optional). Full inhale/exhale from the mouth. This is a good one to do in the morning when you’re first waking up

99.   Sufi Mother’s Breath – this is a simpler version than the Pranayama 4-7-8 version. Exhale through your nose, then inhale through your nose for a count of 7, and then exhale again for a count of 7. This is great and simple to do on a walk where you’re staying present and observing your surroundings

100.   Alternate Nostril Breath – take one hand and rest a middle finger on the forehead, thumb from the same hand rests on the closest nostril temporarily closing the airway, light ring, and baby finger on the opposite nostril. Then, inhaling through the open nostril. Intention: notice details about how each side feels as the air circulates more intently to one side of the body from your head to your feet. Reminder: how the air affects our body at and in this moment and how we affect others and the community around us with our breath

So there you go… those are my best yoga intentions and recommendations.

And one last thing that I wanted to mention…

Each week I bake and participate in an inspiring home baking challenge with a community of enthusiastic bakers.

And some could probably go on The Great British Baking Show.

As for me, I won’t be applying to be a contestant anytime soon, even though I’m pretty sure I’m one of their biggest fans in my area. 😊

But since watching the show, I’ve learned a thing or two.

Like this last season with German Week…

I’ve learned a sweet bun or two from The Great British Bakeoff show 🧡

And so, this week’s challenge is Hot Cross Buns, an egg-cellent choice for Easter. 🐇

I’ve never made the buns before, but I did make cinnamon buns for the first time this year. No matter how these hot buns turn out I’ll show you a photo in an upcoming blog post.

…And since I’m putting myself out there, maybe that’ll encourage you to stretch your mind-body and challenge yourself to a new yoga pose or two if baking isn’t your thing.

And if you need a ‘lil more gentle nudge, just send me a note (on the blog home page under “Contact”) letting me know what muscle pain or soreness or intentions you want to work on, and I’ll send back 5 yoga poses that would be good for you this season to bring back some fun. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Happy Easter! 🐣

Proteins and Meal Prep For Healthy Living

Proteins are the most important macro for keeping you full and many other reasons that this article is about.

Legume proteins added to 2022 pantry
2022 Pantry

Probably like you, I’ve evolved eating habits and meal planning since 2020.

My meals are focused on healthy proteins, carbs, veggies, fiber, and healthy fats. My pantry reflects those balanced moves… and fewer sweets.

The bulk of sweets come from my weekly bakes, like poached cinnamon-honey pears or kiwi meringues.

Daily salty snacks are mostly from nuts that are a high source of protein (i.e. 1 ounce of almonds has 6 grams of protein).

Once in a while, popcorn (a whole grain) with a dash of turmeric comes on the scene for a good movie.

Or a dash of EVOO and white pepper that gives a savory umami buzz.

That’s important for a taste-o-phile. 😊

For most meal prep, the focus is on anti-inflammatory plant-based sources like legumes and phytochemical-rich fruits and veggies.

But I didn’t start off 2020 with my then-new pantry (in limbo transition)…

Pasta over proteins in 2020 pantry
2020 Pantry

The first meal I remember cooking was a box of pasta. It’s not touted on the daily news, but there’s a reason why pasta takes up one side of the grocery store aisle.

For the low cost, it offers good value. It beats a junk food replacement that’s more convenient.

Pasta is fairly easy and quick to cook and is a filling source of energy great for lunches.

And then you can add your favorite protein and veggies on top for a healthy meal.

It’s also a good source of potassium, B vitamins, protein, fiber and has very low sugar. You can also get the tricolor kind with tomato and spinach puree.

But yeah, anything from a box with a barcode isn’t likely to be nutrient-dense polyphenol healthy.

Sometimes I make my own pasta with eggs (which btw, both egg yolks and whites are a good source of proteins)…

Pasta is made with eggs with proteins

But any pasta isn’t gonna be as nutritious as a whole grain alternate or a pseudo-grain like quinoa (a complete protein) that has all 9 amino acids, including the ones your body doesn’t make.

The quinoa nutrition label won’t show that today, so all you see is the 4 grams of protein per half a cup (which still isn’t bad… but only half the scoop). You can add quinoa to your breakfast strategy!

Good to know, no matter whether you’re a natural Vata, Pitta, or Kapha Ayurvedic body type.

In case those terms are new… generally, Vatas are lean, Pittas are muscular, and Kapha body types are heavier set.

In all cases, protein is needed for functioning and is loaded with essential vitamins and minerals.

Some amino acids (the building block of proteins) needed for life, only come from food sources.

Proteins are also needed for muscle growth and tissue repair.

Plus, eating proteins helps with focusing on tasks other than eating all day.

This is especially true if you’re a Vata body type with lean genes and skinny jeans where energy crashes and feeling occasional lightheadedness from low blood sugar can come with the territory too.

All in all, proteins keep us feeling full longer, and being filled gives us energy. Healthy protein sources can come from legumes like beans or tofu (i.e. 6 ounces of tofu has 11 grams of protein).

The 5 Blue Zone regions in the world have the highest concentration of Centenarians (the young-at-heart people passing the 100-year-old mark).

Legumes carry across the board are part of their longevity plans.

Examples:

Sardinia, Italy/Ikaria, Greece – white/cannellini beans

Nicoya, Costa Rica – black beans

Okinawa, Japan – soy beans (tofu)

Loma Linda, CA – mixed (black, kidney, pinto, tofu, etc.)

Occasional lean animal proteins and fish also help us to stay healthy.

Choosing a variety is going to give you the diversity of vitamins and minerals your body optimally runs on.

You can think of getting a balanced meal from building a grain bowl or wrap like in a Chipotle meal.

Here’s a grain bowl example you can try in your at-home meal prep:

Grain Bowl with Proteins
Proteins lead the meal prep

Oh, and don’t forget the microgreens and chia seeds (I.e. 3 Tbsp chia seeds has 7 grams of protein).

If you’re like me who likes to boost her omega-3s with ground flaxseeds, you’re getting 6 grams of protein per 3 Tbsp.

While you may choose your greens first, for meal prep, proteins can still lead the meal choice. Here’s the healthy you could consider weekly:

1-2 cans of 15 oz beans or legumes (chickpeas/lentils)

Wild-caught fish and seafood

Lean Poultry (minimally processed)

Protein in egg yolks and egg whites.

Grass-fed or free-range meat

Uncured lunch meat

Here are some protein questions you can ask:

Which omega-3 protein-rich sources will I add?  Examples: Salmon, eggs (enriched eggs), sardines

Which plant-based proteins? Examples: Tofu, beans, legumes

Which lean B vitamin-rich proteins? Example: Chicken (minimally processed), uncured meats (without sodium nitrates or added nitrite)

B vitamins are water-soluble. Since the body doesn’t store them, we need to keep replenishing. B-vits work together and are responsible for healthy growth, vision, skin, hair, nails, metabolism, immune system support, memory, prevention of many potential body issues, and so much more.

For healthy balancing and easy recipes, check out the search bar feature.

 

 

Getting Best Ideas: When You’re Relaxed (Part 1 of 2)

Himalayan pink salt relaxes the body and is soothing for feet and toes

Are you feeling as productive as you had been? If not as much, maybe this short article will help you to find more peace this season, do the things in your life that matter (and feel more relaxed!).

It’s okay to be uncertain, as we’re all pivoting in some ways. Embracing pivots is helpful for understanding a life of purpose and meaning.

And hopefully you’re still chasing dreams and desiring a better-than-you-started-future outcome, as your optimistic beliefs will carry you far. Believing today accelerates your getting to the other side.

These days you may have to work a little harder to break through the clouds for victories, but they’re there.😊

What could be helpful for you?

First, focus on the right things.

The better idea is to be daily productive and continually develop better ways than from your past. You’re a day wiser than you were yesterday and year wiser than last year.

Spend your time wisely, being conscious to not just take on anything or task put in front of you. We can change and design our paths.

We can remove old ways that don’t serve us anymore or we don’t want again. Evolving helps you grow. It’s a strength.

Sure, life can be easier in a routine and automatic existence, but trying to live in a predictable bubble is not the whole life.

It’s also unrealistic in our unpredictable world and can set up for disappointment.

…When you’re open, loosening the reigns allows you to explore and discover more about yourself and the world around you.

Letting go of the past makes life easier and makes you more nimble to be able to roll with the punches. Then the things that cause unrest can more easily roll off your back.

It’s also much healthier to not live with negative emotions, ongoing stress, anxiety, or irritation from situations or people.

Kind confrontation is better than showing anger, seething, or holding onto stress that no one else knows about.

I used to not like change because I’m a planner. That was the type of work I did too in food menu planning for events. But then I experienced situations where change turned out good so my “all change is bad” theory was busted.

And I realized holding onto the past was fearful thinking. When I let go of what I couldn’t change, life got better. And life is good. And that could be for you too.

And you probably know what that feels like.

Secondly, begin with the end.

From the time we were young kids, we were taught to think in a linear way and to look ahead at tomorrow (or at adult profession dreams when we were way too young to know the realities or what we really wanted).

Today as an adult, a better call is to look at the happiest outcome of your entire life… through the end.

Of course, your perspective will change over the years, but for now, you can consider the question: what legacy do you want to leave?

In other words, what do you want to be remembered for? When you look at it that way, you cut through the stuff you’re preoccupied with today that won’t matter or be as important in the end.

Here’s something you can do today if that’s something you’re trying to answer (or want to discover better ideas about your best life):

Be more relaxed.

You get your best ideas when you and your mind are relaxed and receptive to thoughts from your loving-productive channel.

You’re most relaxed when you’re sleeping, but you’re not able to process your thoughts then and there. Asleep, you can’t really work with those ideas that come in dreams even if they seem productive.

…Btw, I wanted to mention, this is a two-part post. The second part will be about changing, unproductive non-loving thoughts. I think it’s important because that’s where the daily brain can live a good chunk of the day and block out your good ideas if you’re not managing thoughts optimally.

So, getting back to productivity and being relaxed…

When you’re awake you can do two activities at once. Multi-tasking can be productive or counterproductive.

Maybe you’re a natural multi-tasker. That’s me too, my female-Vata side is wired that way, and to like variety.

But there are times when multi-tasking is counterproductive like when you’re trying to read and write at the same time, watch television or listen to a podcast.

Those competing activities create noise in your mind as you have to work twice as hard to drown out one to focus on another.

But when you pair a relaxing activity that you can put on auto-pilot, like thinking through an idea while taking a shower or making your daily tea, new ideas mysteriously and creatively emerge that weren’t there before.

That’s why it’s good too to take mindful breaks, switching up activities to recharge and let new ideas enter. One idea can set you off on a whole new path.

Recently over the past few years, people have changed their thoughts and perspectives on this life: seeing it more precious, valuing time more, and seeing how quickly it goes by.

In our western go-go-go society, it’s common to be unhappy in the corporate world. That’s where I came from.

The more you did and proved your value, the more you could be indispensable (although nobody really is).

The pressure was always there running as an undercurrent. Potentially losing a job for whatever reason was always a looming threat to job security.

And vacations were almost always too short and few. Relax was a bad word in those environments. Taking on stress was not described as life-shortening as it is these days.

Relaxing was associated with being lazy and there was no spinning the idea of laziness as productive.

Laziness was associated with old age, not working, and 4-legged furry pets. Today laziness is normal.

Unhealthy burning the midnight oil, drinking multiple espressos, sugary canned drinks, cramming food down, skipping meals to get more done, and eating junk to get us through, was a growing epidemic.

So hopefully those were our past ways. One good outcome from being more awake and slowing down (and maybe that’s how you are now) is people are taking the burden off their bodies.

We were never meant to have a 24-7-on all the time work-focused mind.

If the body doesn’t want to naturally do this, that’s a sure health warning. Now we’re reconsidering our lives and what we want now and in the future.

And you can leverage these evolving societal changes and reconsider time for your best use.

Finding time throughout the day to do nothing that needs broadcasting (like relaxed yoga poses, napping, meditation, or watching shows) is a good use of time that can lead you to new ideas. And then you can get back to being busily productive as part of the balance.

And if you’re a recovering 24-7 workaholic, you may never want to go back to a rat-race existence if that’s what you had.

You’ve learned some lessons and now know a better way. And you’re smart not to want to go back. You don’t get to redo any age.

Going back would be like wearing a worn-out and familiar old shoe that no longer looks right on you.

Today, you can retire those shoes, and run with a new pair to get to a better place. And don’t be too surprised when new ideas meet you there on your next move. 🎉

Tears of Joy and Breathing for Ayurvedic Living

When you get tears of joy (😂), your body is set in joy motion. You feel something and that can get you to move and take good action.

You get to experience freeing moments like you’re on top of the world, and your mind is joyfully elevated. This helps your mental health and outlook. And when your mind is happy, your body feels the connection. That’s Ayurveda in a nutshell.

Well… except it’s not that cut and dry (…I don’t think anything is these days).  I wrote some personal notes below at the end of this post, from over a decade of intentional-balanced and healthy-minded living

I think it’s safe to say, we all have different body goals. One of mine is to stay looking young for as long as nature will let me. I can’t stop gray hairs from coming, but I can avoid the stressful grays that started in my mid-20s.

And our preferences are different, like in music…

For me and maybe for you, that can be in listening to a song that strikes a chord inside, like Adele’s emotional songs or the empowering words from a Lauren Daigle song.

Lyrics matter to me more now than they used to when I’d hum along to anything that had an upbeat vibe. It’s a good idea to be choosier about what we put in our minds (and body) if we want certain results.

And in modern Ayurvedic living, you choose as it’s not rules-based but certain practices work because the body is intuitive.

In other happy moments, seeing someone else happy can leave us smiling. Or when they have tears of joy, we do too.

And in another moment, that could be laughing out loud (does anyone even use LOL anymore…besides me? 😊).

And btw, I get a good laugh in watching The Great British Baking Show. I’ll spare you the witty, but clean jokes swirling in my head. But, that’s what sets it apart from every other baking competition. It’s standup (filmed) comedy or silly, tongue-in-cheek banter… oh, and beautiful bakes too.🍥

And it’s easy to love and relate to all the friendly contestants (and be glad you’re not under the pressure!). Read-dy?…Now Bake.

Just kidding. (I can’t say lol since I just called myself out on it).

But, anyway… in life, you’re usually witnessing your life from and with other people even if it’s through a computer or television. Even if we feel like we live in a bubble, our energy permeates through social media and our connections made. It doesn’t take a plane ride… it takes nanoseconds for our energy and atoms to travel.

And that’s the relational power we have in this life. Along with our connecting breath.

Next time you think about it, pair your tears of joy (or routinely adding daily eye drops) with a special breathing exercise called Pranayama, that’s a controlled way of breathing.

Here’s how you do Pranayama breath. Blow out all your air through your mouth. And then inhale breathe in a big gasp of air through your nose. Hold your breath for about 6-8 seconds. And then let out a big exhale through your mouth as you had started with. You can feel a burst of concentration/clarity in your mind. The mind fog is lifted (even if it’s temporary) and it can feel like you just had a shot of espresso or strong matcha tea.

In doing the breathing exercise, you’ve just relaxed and massaged your body from the diaphragm muscles to your vital nerves that impact your brain, breathing, and the body parts that regulate your stress. Sounds like a big deal… it is.

But we forget. And living in purpose is everything to intentional balanced living.

You get to feel alive! And that may be the that’s-what -I’m talkin’-about prescription you need, especially if you have constant stress in your life. You can try to find areas of life where you can shed tears of joy.

You can practice breathing purposeful daily wherever you are, so remember to do this regularly or when you next feel anxiety or a breather moment.

This can be another purposeful move where you step outside where you spend most of your day. Like when you’re out and see a work of art that moves your heart and stirs your soul. That can be from nature or something that is living and breathing like a baby-making cooing sounds or a dog with a wagging tail you see walking outside.

If you’re cooped up inside and have no errands to run (lucky you!), here are some outside ideas to get out of your nest: Continue reading “Tears of Joy and Breathing for Ayurvedic Living”