Ayurvedic living Archives - Page 13 of 14 - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

How Ayurvedic Habits Are Useful (Part 1)

Ayurvedic habits was introduced to me 13- years ago to date when I embarked on a new healthy way of doing life. Yoga was still a new concept to the western world. And I was about to start my first blog.

ayurvedic habits

Those were the days before personal awareness, #metoo movements, and before western Ayurveda ways caught on with some (like me and maybe you?).

I’d been striving for balance ever since the day I realized I didn’t have any, and in my memory as far back as when the popular Friends sitcom show first came on.

Those were pre-internet days where you never saw a laptop at the Central Perk television set or anywhere for that matter ☕️

You and I can laugh at the wired phone cord that would be fun to untangle now. Phones back then weren’t wireless or smart. And watches were used to just tell time.

Technology and life are interesting in how it’s constantly evolving, and never going backward. Along the way, your tastes and wants can also change as you grow up.

I’m not a traditionalist, so I lean towards growth and doing things differently.

…but I started out on a traditional college to the corporate work-life path (with no work-life balance). And through life’s swerves, hidden turns, and purposeful career switching, I gradually turned around the tide.

You know when you don’t have the life you want when you run into dead ends, and that makes you search for the unknown. You know there has to be better if you use the right optimistic attitude. That btw, teaches you to steer away from sarcasm and Murphy’s Law thinking that was common during the Friends and Seinfeld show era.

Starting out in my career in hotel catering management taught me that not filling hotel rooms with guests was the biggest (opportunity) cost to the bottom line. I carried that way of thinking into my life even back then when I wasn’t aware. I realized not doing my highest and best use (that was taught in college) was my biggest loss.

That concept became my motivator to leave jobs I was unhappy or miserable with that had no rewarding path I could see for personal growth or in their business improvement.

In my late 20’s I wanted work-life balance, and to end the 50-60 hour workweek rut I was in walking around like a zombie in my downtime, that I started out with.

I kept the mantra running in my mind that I would not get my time back…and when I saw no way out, I found a way out.

And that’s how I switched industries into corporate tech office work. There I experienced newfound balance, and after I got a taste of that, I wanted more.

I went from not-so-healthy to balance, healing, and eventually wholeness. It was an overnight change that took over a decade.

And somewhere in that mix, the economic downturn hit where I went back to where I began in hospitality work. I had changed but the industry had not, so I moved on yet again.

…And that’s why I believe for everyone, Life is meant to get better despite the curve balls thrown at you.

Yes, you age, but you grow wiser and smarter. And you can adopt the right attitude if you help yourself to get there. I would never want to go backward in time.

…and I know now time can be underrated, and that it’s our most valuable asset (especially as you enter your 30’s and beyond).

I also now know that time is well spent when all 365 days of the year, I practice healthy and happy balance (that means green smoothies, food variety, and never changing Strawberry Twizzlers!). Plus, daily reset and renewal, and Ayurveda prevention and restoring ways.

….And that last one is what I’m most proud of for taking care of my body and mind.

Learning Ayurvedic habits was a new concept for me as a mid-adult who had lived around suburban malls and eating prepared foods in popular restaurants (and some that I couldn’t resist as I marketed their foods).

So then when I switched to Ayurveda I had choices (it’s not a diet, as I don’t believe in those). It encourages you to lean into your body’s natural desires, and often those are against the popular culture desires or what you think you want, like restaurant food (where you have no control over the cooking and ingredients).

I like to think of modern, western Ayurveda as a flexible lifestyle where you choose balance. You have a healthy plan and you enjoy what you like that you don’t regret.

For example, you won’t see me ordering or drinking a coffee drink with 53 grams of sugar. If it starts out that way, I will order most of the fat and sugar off, or just choose a black cold brew. That’s how I roll.

And that’s an ingrained habit.

But someone may say, “that’s no fun.” And I would say, “it is for me. I want to feel and look good, and for a long time. Then I can have more fun!”

We’re a much more health-conscious society now, but you still have critics and that can be the one sitting on your shoulder giving you internal debates on choices.

These days, I prepare at least 80% of my meals (and 100% in the past year). And Ayurvedic habits have helped me with balance, prevention, and restoration. And they can help you too!

Western Ayurvedic Habits

The Ayurvedic habits I do are not new to our western culture like they would have been a few decades ago. Like: the neti pot works for preventing sinus infections and doing regular yoga helps with balance, flexibility, and strength building.

Sanskrit is not my native or secondary tongue, so some rituals I’ve walked into that I wish I didn’t. Like: incense (…you might as well smoke a pack of cigarettes.. thankfully you rarely run into either and if it’s a certain church occasion where incense is, you know to expect it).

Another less than desirable one is chanting, like in a new yoga class that gives me an eerie feeling. I don’t participate. The mystical woo stuff doesn’t woo me.

I like to have my feet planted on the western ground unless I’m doing fun acrobatics (photo up top and here). Just kidding.

So some Ayurvedic habits and ways stuck with me and some didn’t, and from the beginning so I knew that they were meant (or not meant) for me.

And if you’re trying to figure out what Ayurveda or healthy lifestyle works or would work for you, then you can use your preferences as a natural guide if you don’t have a coach or someone helping you.

Essentially, Ayurveda is what’s healthy and natural to you, your body, and mind-body, so you can’t go wrong if it’s a healthy choice you like.

And when creating Ayurvedic habits, some habits need more practice to fully adopt than others.

In his NY Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, habit advice expert, James Clear, describes that habit stacking is an easier way to have a habit stick.

An example of this is: I conveniently have a yoga mat rolled out near my bathroom with a side door, so that I can do a few yoga stretches before I start my day and after brushing my teeth (habit stacking). For some people, that’s enough of a reminder to create a habit.

But for a heavy Vata mind-body where routine (and sticking to the same way) is not a natural friend, I tweaked this idea to work for me…

A few days later after the novelty of the yoga morning activity wore off (and the habit broke), I rolled up half the mat, which triggered me to see the mat change when I had to look down so I didn’t trip over it.

That reminded me to do yoga. And then slowly but surely I didn’t need to look down anymore because I knew where the roll ended. So I then took the half-rolled-up mat, and rolled it back down, and then rolled it in a different way several days later. I mixed it up. And now I have a mat under the mat to keep things interesting… and to keep me interested. That forced the habit to start, so it had a chance to stick.

I then reinforced the habit further with a set alarm. ...Phew! That was a lot for just one habit. But it’s worth it.

And you know what’s worth it for you, what works, and what it takes for you to create a habit! The harder part I think is figuring and finding out what habit to even start. And, knowing why you’re creating a habit.

Overall in the long run, when you do better habits, this keeps the healthy balance. You also improve and run your best marathon.

This is also how you keep growing. Keep trying new things (a Vata’s motto) until it becomes unhealthy or non-serving. Then in awareness of what you previously tried and want to improve, tweak again.

A good goal is to find what makes you happy, healthy, and whole, because without good physical and mental health, you can’t really optimally grow and contribute in your highest and best use way (maybe this is important to you too).

In the beginning, when I was forming Ayurvedic habits and concepts, I still felt stress or anxious even though I knew how to restore those feelings. I just hadn’t practiced enough.

And then I learned what worked for those symptoms and that became old hat like learning to ride a bicycle. And then I would feel other emotional symptoms like feeling irritated or judgmental. So then I fixed those.

While the symptoms were obvious, the changes were subtle (going in and out of moods). In those cases, I could’ve chosen to do nothing. And that’s what I think most people choose.

But that my friend (if I can call you that)… is not the highest-quality life, and maybe even semi-existence. I know because I lived that way in my no work-life balance-joy-robbing time that I will never go back to…

Feeling down, self-(fill in the blank ____), or negative thoughts and other big mood swings taking up mind real estate during prime leisure time and at night. But, I guess I was aware enough to do something about it. There’s always a silver lining.

For me, it would start with getting internally upset, angry, or irritated about something… and on and on it would spiral out of control spewing in my day and mood.

And I know that’s how a lot of people operate some of the time. And, that’s too much time!

There’s a much better way. 🎉

Transforming these ways has been worth going through the trials (to not lose any more valuable time), so that some of the time, becomes rarely or never when we learn better habits and ways.

These days, I choose peace. It’s a habit. Like most people, I have emotions running all the time and even more thoughts. And you can’t control how others behave towards you and some situations that happen to you. But you can control how you respond and react. So that’s what I do (and I encourage everyone to do that, so we can live our best lives now).

Ayurvedic habits allowed me to tap into daily peace, joy, and love that I already knew was there. That sounds so cliché and Hallmark card-ish, but that’s the nitty-gritty truth and what good habits can do for you.

You can get happiness (joy). Because if you find those things in you, your wants and feelings change. So the secret ingredient is getting healthy control over your thoughts and feelings. Letting go of the negative, and holding on to the good. And you can more easily get there if you’re healthy and balanced.

When you can remove (and nip in the bud) non-productive or toxic feelings and moods as soon as possible, you can avoid mental stress and stress on the body that can lead to inflammation.

And maybe that’s why I’m passionate about a balanced life. Because I know it’s in the palm of each of our hands and the ticket to true life’s success and happiness.

It took me not having it to discover it in a much deeper way.

So when I tested out new habits from the better information I gathered, I found it worked like a magic wand over the imbalances I had. It was like a magic pill without any pills or drugs. I didn’t know I had so much power to control.

Thirteen years in, it’s very easy for me to tell what’s happening in or out of balance for the mind by actions, and for the body by symptoms. And since my 20’s I’ve always been discerning and aligned with living balanced as my compass pointing north.

But I know not everyone is like this and many do better with boundaries and strict rules. And some do better with something they can relate to, like this car and body analogy…

Car and Body Analogy

Your Body is Like a Car (except it’s so much more valuable and you only get one in your life).

When you’re getting your car regularly maintained, the car shop can ask a few questions, and they can tell what’s wrong based on the slight off-ness.

All cars are not exactly the same as no one body is alike, even though you and I could both be Vata.

And all cars have wheels and need energy to run. And all our bodies alike have the same running parts like a heart, brain, and skin, with different product needs. Like, we all need moisturizers but in varying degrees to our dry vs. oily skin, and the ingredients that our specific skin likes.

And certain things happen as we travel around, like our bodies age and a car gets out of alignment with mileage and wear and tear. But the symptoms can appear the same. That’s why a doctor or a mechanic can diagnose ailments from inflammations or problems down the road.

And we humans living in our bodies can diagnose and restore our non-serious body irregularities.

When you have Ayurveda habits, you are intentionally preventing stress or letting your body get aggravated.

Next week, I’ll share my specific ayurvedic habits and routines and talk about the Ayurvedic body type habit nuances. If you want to be notified when that and future blog posts come out, you can sign up in the upper right-hand corner of the main/home website page.

And, if you want to get information about how to restore your current body imbalances, take my What is Your Imbalance Type? 2-minute body balance quiz.

Tired, Frustrated, Overwhelmed

Tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feeling as shown in this word cloud are general feelings many of us have.

Tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feeling are common — These are eye-opening common feelings from my community surveyed in September 2021

But you don’t have to stay tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed. It’s the start of a new season and you can transition into your best season (no matter your situation). You can handle it with grace if you stay conscious of your attitudes and what you’re focusing on.

How you react is a direct determinant of how you perceive and interpret your situation.

Today’s blog post (and it’s a big one) is all about your different tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feelings that bubble up when triggered that arise from some form of dissatisfaction (or trigger) in your life. I’m gonna share how to put those non-serving feelings aside so you can LIVE fully!

And that can start with a recipe that cools and refreshes.

If you’re tired overall, then I’ve also got a tea beverage that’ll help put a pep in your step (especially if you have a Kapha imbalance). So keep on reading…

But – just a little side warning upfront: this is a long (and maybe deep) blog post. I didn’t intend for this to turn into an article-length piece, but I’m very passionate about the topic of balance restoration (having suffered in my ways before with unfulfilling work), so I believe that this is useful information for those who want it (and the data is showing people are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated these days).

So to further help with exhaustion and offer some tired relief in the way I know that works, I’m providing some know-how advice and practical nuggets of wisdom that I picked up along my journey.

I chopped up the blog article down into 4 main sections and here are some of the highlights:

Section 1: I explain how feelings can guide you and share what you could productively do with your feelings, plus lessons I learned that can help you turn your life around from tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feelings.

Section 2: I share how to turn your feelings around with your thoughts and two revelations that changed my life (and since the tennis U.S. Open just ended, I use an analogy from the sporting event to describe how you can improve your thought life).

I also share with you some of my lifelong learner ways you can use to help you turn your life around from tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed feelings. And I explain how to reset your life now to a better path of possibilities.

Section 3: You can learn how to change your moods (whether they’re daily or seasonal moods) and how to use your time wisely with a break pause in your day (and life).

I include plenty of peppery questions you can ask yourself to get to the heart of the matter and find yourself in this season, along with oodles of examples throughout (so be sure to read it all and come back if you need to take a break!)

…and then finally in Section 4: you can learn how to change your perspectives from the tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed lens.

And I wrap up with some joy and inspiring ways you can look forward to your season and the upcoming 4 seasons.

So be ready to be encouraged and if you’re ready, grab a beverage and here we go!…

Continue reading “Tired, Frustrated, Overwhelmed”

Emotional Wheel: 3 Case Studies

Emotional wheel is something you’ve probably heard about. Daily, we are bombarded with triggered emotions. If we process them when they happen or within the week, that’s healthy for us so we don’t assume trauma that hurts our happiness. I learned the hard way, but lessons learned gave me wisdom to end the madness even if it was delayed by years.

And these healthy black and white chocolate dipped biscotti (recipe below) ⬇️ represent the refining process of going through (the oven) again to get to the optimal finish line bake. You can make these when you’re working on your emotional wheel feelings, and not sure if you’re feeling up or down or all around that life can serve up.

Jump to Recipe

I was on a recent webinar presentation watching a respected leader and expert I have been listening to for years. She’s usually always on point except for this one display of being on an emotional wheel.

Consequently, her mind jumped all around, from one thought back to another. I felt for her. Like a trouper, she just went on like the professional she is.

Halfway through, she mentioned her forgetful mood was because she didn’t have anything to eat as a result of a hectic morning. But I could see and feel through the screen that the turmoil she was having was from a temporary Vata and Pitta imbalance, simultaneously going on at the same time.

I know that because I’ve been there and I’m sensitive to those imbalances.

We often try and associate our off-ness with a routine missed, or else we just let the moments pass and resolve themselves.

But what if it doesn’t? …and those moody feelings go from a day into days or weeks?

In this webinar I was on, this expert was also more impatient than usual. She didn’t usually point out when she had answered a question already. She typically just graciously found a new way to answer with additional ideas and value. She’s usually very calm and in control in mind-body connection ways.

I’m using this as a case study, as this can happen to any of us in our human-ness, no matter how put together or skilled we are. We’re not robots, thank goodness!

And this helps explain tennis pro, Naomi Osaka’s performance this week in the U.S. Open tennis match (and previous matches) where she has shown signs of frustration, throwing her racquet to the hardcourt. She was up and winning in the first set and then her mind-body turned on her, and she ended up going on a losing streak to a younger underdog player.

This is why they play in professional sports, because mostly if they can contain their emotions and control with a focused, coordinated mind-body, then they shine. But no matter how pro they are, they can lose it if they get inside their heads, and their bodies don’t perform in the tip-top way they want.

Anxiety is one of those emotions that can be crippling. And anger (or irritation as a subtler form) is another. You can go from one undesirable emotion to the next in the spectrum of the emotional wheel.

In my wholeness journey (as a 3^rd study case), I’ve learned how to remove and calm those emotions that used to play a regular or seasonal role in my life. I just thought that was the way I was. I didn’t know back then I could do something about it that would change my life.

Then on top of those emotions, I used to think SADD (seasonal affective disorder) was what I would experience all my life from a teenager on, when every February I would feel hormonally imbalanced or slightly depressed. Do they even talk about this anymore as there are so many other known disorders in our more open, aware society?

I knew once March rolled around I was good and chipper again. But not everyone bounces back that way.

As I grew up, I learned to get the right vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements, and that helped along with all the other healthy and daily practices I implemented to enjoy every day.

In this similar way of seeking knowledge, I learned how to restore anxious-irritated feelings. We all have some feelings we have running on the surface or as undercurrents in our life, and are sometimes stronger based on our life situations.

In my desires and awareness, I learned how to faster restore those symptoms from the body-mind perspective, so that even the inward expression and feelings disappear. That’s a big transformation. And I realized it’s possible to improve your life with better wisdom and practice.

Emotional Wheel: Anxious Vata vs Angry Pitta Imbalances

There’s a varying spectrum of symptoms or descriptions you can use for Vata vs. Pitta imbalances on the emotional wheel.

An anxious Vata imbalance can show signs of being worried, scared or fearful (like if you will lose something valuable or if you feel uncertain about an outcome).

An angry Pitta imbalance can feel hot-tempered, irritated, annoyed, critical, or impatient (or feel a need to be more right about everything than usual).

In both cases, you want to get back to your calmest self as soon as possible. We all know stress causes havoc on our bodies and minds. And when you’re calm, you make better decisions when you can think and act clearly.

But each specific imbalance needs a different remedy.

If you have a Vata imbalance, you can first more notice your symptoms in your heartbeat, stomach, and sweaty hands (before it impacts your mind). You want to control those with your thoughts. You want to change that, to feel fearless and confident.

In a high-pressure situation like in a world-is-watching-your tennis court performance, that’s not easy to do and to revert back right away. At home or in your life, that’s what you want to do.

If you have a Pitta imbalance, your mind can often be impacted first. Triggers can set off your mind, and then your actions create your behaviors that lead to body stressors.

We all are born with a split mind that I won’t get into here, but this can be part of a personal growth journey you take to have one productive, loving mind in your higher self-space.

It’s the stuff I breathe, share, teach (and stand for). I believe your health and happiness are dependent on your growth and based on your choice and decision to take a better path than how you started or were given.

And in either case of Vata or Pitta imbalances, if you’re not calm then you’re stunted momentarily until you can restore and get back to your balance. You’re frozen from being creative and fully productive as your mind is distracted and can be racing, and that can impact your physical health like getting enough sleep and functioning optimally in the waking hours.

…Such as sitting still can be a Vata challenge and getting motivated to do calming yoga can be something you need to convince your body to do if it will cooperate. And a Pitta challenge can be to not express knee-jerk reactions, opinions, or interrupt. These subtle occurrences are emotional wheel signs that can be balance restored. Just like you get your tire wheels balanced (in alignment) on a car, your body-mind needs addressing, tune-ups and check-ins, so it runs optimally for life.

If you have a Vata imbalance you can witness your jumping from task to task more than usual.

When you have a Pitta imbalance you can also be jumpy, but you may want to interject more often.

You can go from one imbalance to another quickly, the same day, or as often as the weather changes (along with the storms in your body), and naturally can go away.

But, a better goal is you don’t want to be jumpy at all. You want to get off the emotional hamster wheel. There’s no good benefit being on it. You want to be cool, calm and collected. Or happy, and your excitement is contagious so you can be your BEST YOU.

If you let go of the unwanted feelings, then that’s victory. But if these hindering feelings spin out of control in your thought life, then you can end up lashing out at others, being angry, or running away. And these can in a usually-delayed way show up on your body in some form.

When your balance is restored, you know because the feelings of calm and peace wash over, and you can find the joyful moments to keep you productive and happy at the moment. You are free and own the most important thing you have, Your Life. You feel on top of the world and your emotional wheel is balanced.

So now you know about the Vata-Pitta differences (or are getting a little more aware). What do you do about restoring your emotional wheel of undesired feelings?

It’s not exactly one size fits all as we have different bodies and minds (biodiversity), but since we’re all born with a body and mind, there are similar specific remedies that work for these imbalances.

For a Vata, ginger, and cinnamon in black teas can be your magic tea. Orange is one of your magical scents.

If you’re a Vata or have a Vata imbalance, you won’t want grassy tasting green teas (green smoothies are okay all the time 😊) or to do the creative activities, as your mind will still want to protect you like you’re being chased by a tiger.

If you’re a Pitta or have a Pitta imbalance, you won’t want sweets. You’ll prefer a plummy-sour fruit flavor or green tea, and you’ll want to get active. You can want the grassy cologne scents that you won’t normally be attracted to if you’re not a naturally dominant Pitta.

From anxiety to anger, you can easily go into a distracted fight-flight-frozen mode.

You get to know which imbalances you have when you like certain scented lotions and perfumes you like sometimes but not others. All that information is connected to your body-mind intelligence and imbalances.

Your body naturally knows what it wants and needs. It’s fascinating. That’s why I’m passionate about restoring imbalances that lead to better daily happiness and long-term health.

You can learn how to do this for yourself and others. As a first step you could take the body balance quiz to get some quick tips on how to restore your dominant imbalance and get advice for deeper insight on your body-mind imbalances. I love this mantra:

“When you know better, you do better.”
-Oprah and Maya Angelou

Break your patterns, stay curious, and with a growth mindset, you can make tweaks and improvements that affect your health and happiness. Let your emotional wheel of feelings help guide you. Be well.

Print Recipe

Healthy Biscotti (No Butter No Sugar) - Black and White Chocolate Biscotti

A healthy biscotti is great for dunking in your healthy beverage.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

2-1/2 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp aniseed, crushed
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil
1-1/4 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 cups blanched almonds
2 tsp milk
finely choped dates, orange zest, dried fruits as sweet

Instructions

Make your dough with the ingredients. It should be cohesive and sticky enough to become a dough. You may need to add more oil or can substitute with yogurt or apple sauce.
Roll out one or two rectangular rounded loafs (for mini biscotti) about an inch thick for the classic biscotti shape.
Bake in 350°F oven for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely. Then use a serated knife to make even-cut biscotti pieces.
Flip over biscotti and bake for 10 more minutes (for "twice baked").
Let cool and dip in melted chocolate (optional).
Refrigerate and then dip in white chocolate for duo-chocolate.

Balanced Living This Season

Balanced living and wellness is the best way to live a life worth living.

That’s what people discover after they’ve hit rock bottom or they’ve run ragged for long seasons.

When you reset to your calm and whole equilibrium essence, you find your life meaning, purpose, and happiness now and in this season.

That improves mental health that’s delicate to protect for longevity.

If you live every day busy and stressed, even if it’s doing the thing that lights you up and gives you purpose, like owning your own business or being the CEO in your household, you can still feel burnout.

If you don’t develop a strong enough reason WHY for what you’re doing, then you can gradually feel unhappy because you can be missing the meaning piece. Why does the business or my family give me purpose?

Getting to those deeper reasons, you can find it has nothing to do with security or a sense of belonging as you could get those from a solid work career or a community of friends.

It could be more about spiritual alignment, personal growth, and discovering more of who you are.

If you were a rose flower, even during blooming season, your intact delicate petals could become brittle, and fall off under wind-blowing conditions.

But if you knew your purpose and greater giving impact was to be naturally beautiful, fragrant, healthy, and alive, and that your inner beauty helps to spread love to your environment and the world, then you would be able to embrace chaos and changing environmental situations.

You can get your unique raison d’etre (reason of being) when seeking meaning and purpose this season which requires your focus, mindful space, and deeper thought.

Quiet time, introspection, and journaling can bring that wisdom out of you.

If you are body-mind balanced in balanced living, then you can tune in more acutely because when you’re healthy you can do infinitely all that you’re capable and willing to do in alignment.

A healthy body-mind provides the starting foundation for your inner wisdom to grow.

To be healthy, it’s important to find time to soak in what your body is conveying to you in each season of your unique life and take time to nourish your naturally resilient but unique body.

The one and only body you will get and can transform if you wish. A simple daily task of moisturizing your dry skin (the largest organ in your body) can be a healthy body-mind exercise especially if you’re a Vata and have those tendencies.

You could stop to smell the roses daily and sense all their pretty features like bright and pastel colors… subtle rose scents (great for a judgmental mind)… soft and silky smooth texture …and balanced intricate design.

In those mindful moments, you can connect with yourself, and realize how you can make an impact in your life and others this season of life… Time you will never get back. Losing time can be a motivator (Your Why) as it has been for me.

Before I was conscious of body imbalances, I didn’t realize I had fallen rose petals from lack of self-care attention. I may have noticed random petals and brushed that off as nothing.

Had I been more in tune back then, I could have adapted and thrived better to my seasonal situations to keep the petals blooming.

And I would’ve reached my higher frequency instead of survival mode in a modern rat-race work life. You can miss out on fulfilling years of personal growth and finding your whole self that way.

Looking back, I went through the motions. In the season when I had a Kapha imbalance, I couldn’t get myself up an hour earlier than I desired and accumulated more than one of everything.

When I had a Pitta imbalance, I noticed acne in new spots and was more critical than usual.

When I had a Vata imbalance, I was more forgetful, inconsistent, unfocused darting from unimportant task to task, and indecisive making small decisions difficult.

Multitasking BTW is the epitome of a lack of mindfulness.

Out of living balanced, inconsistent symptoms show up, such as accumulating body weight, feeling impatient, being withdrawn or slower than usual.. and so much more!

When I learned how to restore my gradually stored up appearing imbalances, then I had a new framework and perspective for tackling all that I wanted to do in a loving way and productively.

More importantly, being the person I wanted to be (…and you can too!).

You could be fully aligned with the creative flow (even if you think you’re not creative or in this season). You gain clarity and laser focus (and feel unstoppable, and not starting and stopping).

You can be your super-productive self while still enjoying some of the uneventful days of this season. They don’t matter in balance.

Finding unique joyful activities you love can help to prevent burnout. And proactively learning how to naturally restore your body-mind balanced self and balanced living is how you can start to be your healthiest self (and the best rose in your life).

Each year can be your best year because you make the most out of it and see how what you did brought you to where you are.

Encouragement for today… you every day feel better than the day before if you proactively look for how to intervene and get those wholesome perspectives and wisdom.

If yesterday wasn’t the best, you have a low bar to surpass today. If yesterday was great (hopefully it was) then today you can follow in those footsteps, and also keep trying new things. You keep going and growing.

As busy humans, we have complex lives. One day, we can be pivoting, and the next day looking for more happiness in our lives while handling the necessary tasks in the here and now.

Some of our specific situations can sometimes leave us feeling drained, tired, anxious, worried, annoyed or irritated. If you feel any of those symptoms, you can do something about it.

You can find out what your body imbalance type is in this season and make positive, restorative changes. Getting aware helps your body-mind balanced lliving.

Your body and mind imbalances can change from season to season and can show up in many ways. The mind and body keeps memory and score.

As part of this season, I hope (and challenge you if that’s what you need!) that you will take time to find your specific purpose, meaning, and take some extra balanced, self-care time out.

6 Productive Take Time Out Activity Ideas For Balanced Living (So You Don’t Burnout!)

Every day, try and choose at least one of these “time out” activities that can be for 10 minutes or more per day. If you only have 5 minutes, then take those 5 minutes.

If you feel guilt about taking time away from whatever your busy list is (work, family, etc.), recognize the feeling, and reason with yourself that this prevents you from burning out in the long run.

When you come back to your busy life, take note that nothing significantly earth-shattering has happened. The more you can record evidence for that, the less guilt if any, you can feel. And then you also gained quality time for yourself, and you feel healthier and happier, and the people around you notice.

Breathing time. If you can’t remember the last time you paid attention to your breath inhale and exhale breathing, then you’re probably too busy to be mindful and too busy this season. Be intentional and come back to it for your health and balanced living.

Break time. In between busy activities, take short breaks to get mindful, Doing laundry, making a snack, pouring water, and looking at nature or a plant that’s moving or growing as you read this and go about your regular day, can be satisfying to a balanced body-mind. If you feel tensions, then something could be off.

Use mind space and relaxing your body, as your break time theme. You could be standing up, taking a walk, or sitting on the deck, and watching the world go by, looking for productive future thoughts to enter. You can start with something you look forward to. If you find yourself pacing or your mind is racing, step outside into new surroundings and air.

Silent time to get a peaceful mind. Have moments in the day where it’s completely quiet in your surroundings, or you put on white noise or a quieting headset.

Let ideas pop into your head. This means not watching the television.

This means tuning out the sounds from your immediate world that can come from another room.

You can meditate, but I suggest keeping your eyes open so you can take a look at your surroundings for inspirational ideas.

“Me time.” I grew up in a decade where it was a less sensitive world than today. People weren’t as aware or empathetic.

Taking “me time” sounded selfish to others, but then our society became more open to the idea that when you practice self-care and self-love, you have more love to give to others (time, space, and forgiveness).

Thankfully living in a more transparent world frees you to be a better you.

If you find pride creeping up, you can have a daily intention or practice to be grateful.

Find gratitude time. Pause and think of a few moments this week that you’re grateful for.

Write them down in a journal or on the back of a temporary envelope if that will help better solidify those temporary memories in your mind.

You can do this while you turn on the news. With sad headlines, you can have deeper compassion, and that helps you find gratitude, meaning, and contentment in your life.

This can improve your daily happiness and feeling good about what you do have and how you can contribute and make an impact to serve and help others.

Gaining an internal and grounded perspective can keep you feeling peaceful and in control, instead of living an up and down daily roller coaster lifestyle based on the highs and lows going on in your life.

If you’re feeling frustrated or defeated:

Find organize task time (or time to piddle around and tidy up). If you feel overwhelmed or are unwinding from the day, doing mindless tasks can feel good and be productive.

You can use this time to also catch up on podcasts or listen to music to get calm and back to your usual self.

If you have more time, you can do a rainy day project like organizing a file, bookshelf, or drawer. Make it fun.

You can create a good memory by stuffing a good ‘old photo, some stickers, or memorable words you write on paper, and add them to your project.

When you’re done, you’ll feel better for your small, but mighty in your mind daily achievement. That can be all your mind needs to relax and get back to the mood you want.

And in the future when you pick up the tangible memory you just made, that can put a smile on your face again. Small tasks can make big differences.

Have a good (no, have a GREAT) balanced living week!

Oat Blueberry Waffles - No Egg

Short on eggs, you can make this easy recipe in 3 minutes.

Course Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 tbsp blueberries, frozen
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk or plant-based milk for dairy-free
1 tbsp whole wheat flour, plain flour, or gluten free flour
1 tsp neutral oil

Instructions

Mix ingredients and add to your medium hot waffle maker. This is a liquid-y batter. Add more oats to fill in if it becomes too liquid in spots. This is a very forgiving recipe and great for lazy weekends!
Cook for about 3 minutes or until easy to pull in one piece off the waffle iron with a fork.
Flip the bottom for the top as often that's better cooked.
For healthy version, dust collagen powder on top instead of powdered sugar.

Real Life vs. Virtual World – Balance Life 80/20

Real life vs. virtual world is a reality today. We felt this during the pandemic when we were on lockdown and had opportunity for more virtual connection. Real life was maybe more home and or outdoor focused.

real life vs. virtual world tips includes healthy home eating — Avocados 🥑 are nutri-delicious and you can grow an avocado plant easily from a healthy seed as a heathy real life activity! 🌱

And the lessons we learned were mostly from our own experiences. They shaped us in our hybrid worlds today in 2025 and beyond.

Today we’re balancing real life vs. virtual world digital life where AI is the new digital movement.

It’s a brand new era of possibilities.

Figuring out your balance is where you will get the best reward and living 80/20 real life vs. virtual world is going to be your healthiest best.

You grow when you get out and meet people instead of staring at digital screens. You may be more productive and scalable on your screen reaching more people, but the connections you make with in-person connections will be higher quality.

They also help you have a happier life and get more restful sleep as you’re not staring at blue screen lights non-stop.

Below I provide some ideas and tips from my own self-discovery of an 80/20 balance from 2020 where I clearly saw the contrast and learned useful real life vs. virtual world digital balance lessons.

Co-working spaces are opportunities to make connections and water cooler chat in real life. Zoom and video conferencing are still opportunities to meet more people in different places.

Adding those two meeting opportunities enriches lives and promotes growth in your life and community.

In the Blue Zones regions around the world (with the highest number of vibrant 100 year olds on the planet), community is a common factor.

Conversations happen in community and provide opportunities.

Offline (real life), I once had a office coworker from another department who had over a dozen healthy plants in her office and as a conversation starter I said to her, “the air in here must be really good!”

She pointed out the growth of specific plants (they were her babies), and how wee-small they were when her daughter was born and now off in college.

Proximity was an opportunity to connect and provide opportunity to tear down department communication walls.

That also inspired me to bring in my own house plant as you can never have enough metaphors in life for growth.

And today you may have your work-from-home living situation. And over time, that can get lonely. That’s also when real life vs virtual world connections have the most benefit.

Lessons Learned From 80/20 Real Life vs. Virtual World

If you want to live more balanced, get more good sleep and enjoy this life while not missing seasons. And if you want to get up earlier, rearrange your bed so that it’s closest to the window. Turn the shades so that natural light comes in at sunrise. That transformatively helps to biohack your circadian rhythm naturally.

When I did this, I noticed I got up 1-2 hours earlier every day appreciating sunrise. Getting sunlight in and through your eyes, wakes you up!

Create boundaries so you can have the balanced, 80/20 happy life you want.

You can count how many days you’ve left your house. And if it’s less than 4 per week, that’s a sign that you’re less than 50% doing real life with others.

And you find that you’re flip-flopped or less than 20% in the real life vs. the virtual world (80% plus), you definitely want to evaluate and change some things so you can “stop and smell the roses” and enjoy your foods, that are not in digital cookies. 😊

That’s what I found my life was becoming back in our social distancing world days.

And now that we are socializing again, it’s still not the same as in the past.

It is reported that Gen Z generations living in this increasingly heavy digital world are reporting their sleep is suffering. Unlike younger and older Millennials (Xennials), they weren’t all born before the internet so they only know the Web 3 and beyond worlds.

These days not having digital boundaries is definitely affecting any of us, so it’s good to be aware.

Counting and gauging your overall daily hours online is a healthy, first-step awareness exercise.

This brings me back to the point of finding the best balance that’s achievable.

Keeping a calendar helps to check your real life vs. virtual world balance. And if you keep a printed calendar on-hand then you rely less on the digital world.

Getting inspiration to go back to at least 60% real life vs. virtual world is a healthier balance, no matter what your type of work is, for an overall happier life. Aiming for at least 4 days where you get out of the house.

Besides running errands, you could sign up for events or volunteer so those are built into your schedule.

Your time on Zoom counts as virtual hours. Meeting for coffee in the real world has a different effect than seeing someone on a Zoom screen.

Connecting to people in the virtual world saves travel time and the value is the idea exchange, growing further, sharing, and collaborating newborn opportunities and ideas with people around the world.

So balancing the two worlds (real life vs. virtual world) is tricky.

During 2020, counting hours helped me to become aware of my own behaviors, and helped influence me to add back real-world life hours and joy in a safe physical environment.

One thing is I learned how to use the manual setting on an SLR camera that’s been sitting in a closet for almost a decade dying to be used properly.

Since applying learned camera lessons, I’ve been excited to take photos again in real life.

Another example is, I learned how to use the dough hook that comes with the Kitchen Aid mixer, where I was able to make all types of low-sugar brunch desserts and foods that I missed when I was at real life brunches.

I invented new smoothies, dips, and Magic Bullet blender recipes

And I discovered new food varieties! Like, I didn’t know there was a Cara Cara orange variety until I infused them in my low-sugar orange scones.

If you’re a Vata like me, you can see and appreciate nature changing and evolutions in the world through food variety.

And when adopting enhancements in your adapting life, you probably have progressed more in your life than you give yourself credit for.

Here are some additional positive examples that happened (that are still relevant and you can try!):

2020 Pantry Stock (Real life vs. virtual world)

I learned how to stock and keep a supply of grocery goods in a closet pantry for convenience (and just in case), that saves time.

While pulling out older items, I took the time to read the nutrition labels and intentionally deciding to keep some of the “bad foods” that’s readily available when we didn’t know if a food shortage could exist.

…They are still joyful foods for kids and we do live in a real world where it’s good to be sensitive to the world’s food insecurities in community, compassion, and empathy, in a kinder-giving and patient world we’re living in and becoming.

Having a pantry helps make you appreciate the real world vs. virtual world.

When you leave your digital device and healthy food interweb searches, you get to compassionately learn that food banks have lines and where more expensive healthy meal planning is not the main goal of the average American household.

And when I think back to Pop Tarts or a bag of Tootsie lollipops (off the charts in sugar content), I stop healthy judgment, and feel grounded from my humbled beginnings.

These have been popular treats since I was a little girl and taught me to change my ways in 2020 where eczema had a life in me. And since then found the better anti-inflammatory eating ways one baby at a time that’s more like a weekly 7 day eczema diet plan to eliminate any flareups today.

I eat less sugar baking my own desserts which is healthy and something I may have never pursued on my own. 🍥

You just never know how tough situations can pan out and bring in better ways… that you organically learn about living through those seasons one day at a time.

And daily to keep focus, whether you use Post-Its or Trello boards (or digital similar tools) for life productivity, those micro choices shape and shift your 80/20 balanced life.

What tool you use isn’t what’s so important, as much as how they serve you and keeping an 80/20 real life/digital balance.

And that’s the same reason why I have a yoga mat permanently laid out on the floor.

It’s convenient and one less step that can prevent me (and you) from doing a productive and healthy habit.

It’s easy to get distracted in our blending real life vs. virtual world where we balance life-work-and everything else.

A benefit of doing the balance is you stay very relevant to all the changes around you and the world.

Balancing helps to not go extreme in either way.

It allows us not to get left behind in the process of who we could become in this world and also what’s happening in the world.

Catching some of the daily news is helpful but not watching or reading for hours is healthy. We keep using what we learn to benefit our experiences.

And blocking out all social media isn’t necessarily healthy while looking at your devices first-thing in the morning isn’t either. So finding that happy medium balance of 80/20 helps.

Here are a few learned tips to view social media and digital communication (in case you’ve been living out mostly in the real world!):

Have patience with tools that drop communication and people not replying back because of busy real, and digital life overwhelm reasons. You can be pleasantly surprised how waiting can lower your blood pressure (it has mine).

We didn’t tolerate slow tech issues a decade ago (faster was a goal), and now we’ve mellowed out. Catch yourself from taking no replies back as a personal rejection to you (always believe it’s a technology glitch, other party personal overwhelm, and not your human glitch!).

Girl, I don’t know you as a reply to a stranger’s DM in social media, is no longer the kinder way you should respond to people reaching out to you in our sensitive #metoo society. Have no judgment.

Some people are unaware as no adult today was born with social media as a daily norm. We’ve all committed to a social media faux pas or two (even if we’re not aware). Kindly react or let someone they know (not you, a stranger to them) respond to them.

And yeah, spam is still spam to a stranger, so unfollow as needed without thinking the Universe is going to take that as your negative energy. Just think, you’re helping spammers (who could be a bot 🤖) figure out who their people are and that so happens to not be you, someone who cares.

Don’t be afraid to reach out with good intentions. Friend circle divides have been broken. It’s now…. do we have anything in common even if it’s just a mutual engagement on a conversation thread? Don’t overthink. Just post and reply authentically so people know you exist.

If you have kind-hearted intentions, don’t feel regret or question whether you should I have posted or commented? Be brave. Sometimes you only get one chance and then the time has passed.

In network meetings, make a habit to act like that could be the last time you see any one person even though there are future meetings scheduled. You just never know and opportunities don’t wait.

Social media is encouraging all of us to embrace each other, our vulnerabilities and differences. Being fearless, collaborating, and taking initiative are how you make inroads and meaningful impact.

You may even discover an interest, passion, or purpose in the process! When you listen to other people’s journeys and how they discovered their calling, you realize that they didn’t set out to do what they do.

They found an opportunity and that took them to their next step action that provided the next step clarity. And years later they have blossomed and can look back and re-tell their passion origin story.

Create discipline for time and space. I found myself pulled into podcasts, social media, Zoom, and other conversations when I wasn’t fully present.

If you don’t need to enter them (e.g. not scheduled on your calendar), then keep staying productive with your main focus task. It could be an activity or it could be staying creative that could be a strategy.

For non-essential tasks, if it’s not a good time or you’re not receptive, come back to those non-real time recordings and listen when you can pay attention to get the most benefit.

Real Life, Work-Life Balance :

I’m very specific and serious about getting high-priority, creativity, and deep-thinking mind activities done in the morning as I protect those golden hours. It’s the natural planner in me.

Then as night falls, I become more flexible about how I feel and anything I do is additional. This leaves wiggle room for being less rigid (quality over quantity).

Like: 8-10 hours work, 6-8 hours sleep, and 8 hours leisure.

Being structured and flexible shapes you into a well-rounded person (generalist), empathetic to the world that’s more needed than ever, and then you add your uniqueness and talents (specialist) to the mix.

You can find your balance and rhythm to do both, in your staying flexible, open, and intentional life.

And if you work or spend most your time at home, creating boundaries is super important. Closing an office door, turning off the television, or shutting down a laptop helps.

Create different room zones that divide activity. Have a special nook for your journaling and reflection time, and a separate area where you exercise.

Even if you’re in tighter quarters like a city apartment or bedroom, you could set a pillow or mat on the floor by the window and that gives you a new perspective.

Defining time and space is more important than the perfect physical space or a large space.

What used to be called “me time” a decade ago (that could sound selfish if over-indulgent), is now prized as self-care in our aware world to what helps to create a successful life. See how the world is coming around 😊

So, keep restoring your inner you and peace, and making micro habit shifts to improve your vitality and grow the relationships around you.

When you healthily re-enter the digital world that never sleeps, you can add more value to your virtual spaces, tribes, and groups.

Set your timer or stack one of your habits.

You can show up adding value and sharing your real-life natural gifts, talents, and mutual interests

And when it’s time to switch back to your balanced 80% real-life (work-life-sleep) routine, put your devices back to sleep. 🛏

Because devices and imbalanced lifestyles, can put you feeling out-of-sorts. Your mind and/or body can feel like it’s in a mood funk from your usual balance, but you can restore your body-mind type imbalances.

I share what I learned from top-to-bottom in one stressful season where I turned to modern Ayurveda ways as a solution that costs you practically nothing and you can do conveniently in your surroundings (even if your home is in a busy city in the Western world) once you know what to do.