Ayurvedic living Archives - Page 5 of 14 - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Mind-Body Balance + Active Bridge Pose Metaphor

mind-body-balance

I just finished an Ayurvedic series and am starting a mind-body balance series TODAY.

This NEW series on Mind-Body Balance is I believe so important for our happiness. Because our mind-body’s off-ness or imbalance that we can restore, is the cause of why we’re feeling:

…misaligned with the natural season

…distant from our peaceful-joyful selves

…or, lack of clarity that’s different than uncertainty that’s part of this life.

And the good news is we’re able and empowered to restore what’s naturally meant to be ours… and mind-body balance is one of those life benefits.

One sign that we’re on a good track is when we feel mostly clarity…

Clarity defined as grounded in knowing who we are despite daily situations that change and shake us up.

Life situations play out and can put any of us in a funk. That’s a good reason to not take life situations so seriously… and instead, slip back to leaning into our naturally designed groove of being happy and living healthy.

Because if you’re not happy, those undertone feelings show up in and on your body… and preventing this is what mind-body balance is about on a practical level.

The below tips are to help you walk through imbalances and for the next time…

But, before jumping in, I just wanted to mention the next part will be about Mind tips as related to the mind-body equation. And then the last part will be on the Body in the mind-body that you may not have been informed of or thought about in those ways. So you can discover more about you and empowering better outcomes.

…Because you do have a choice in all three: your mind-body, mind, and body life.

If you believe that your happiness exists within you and not your situations, you can have your best season yet.

So clearing the mind is such an important tool to gain clarity on helpful beliefs, feeling better, and making better daily decisions.

Suggestion Reminder Steps to Feel Better

One good step and reminder is to take multiple deep breaths. Taking conscious breaths clears the air instantly…

You get a pause break from active thoughts, and you pump in life-giving new oxygen into your body, while pumping out old air. You get the chance to exhale bad energy and anxious thoughts not grounded in full reality.

You can realize in the moment that your thoughts are only part of the equation in any life situation.

And, maybe you take a few moments for a few deep breaths now to help you with your mind-body health.

Did you do that?

And, the second suggestion is to take a few minutes in silence by yourself every day where all you hear is the white noise in the background. You can do this in a quiet room with a door or at a quiet park. Listen to your mind-body…

Connect with your mind-body where you’re in tune with your heart’s whispers.

The mind-body is interconnected in a deeper way than the physical mind and body (e.g. organs like the brain and skin).

And connect the idea that symptoms on your body show up as outcomes from your carried thought-feelings.

That was revelatory for me years ago because that helped me to grasp how to change thoughts at any moment.

It’s a mental exercise that isn’t visible so it’s not as easy as say, picking up a ball where you don’t have to be as fully mind present.

And it’s one where we can have a block if we never embraced changing thoughts.

We can start by acknowledging that it’s healthy to agree to disagree with ourselves sometimes and exit out the negative thoughts. And we’re healthy wise to do so often!

But our ego tries to sabotage these efforts. And it takes mental power to fight our ego as it fights for us to be right with ourselves.

And most of us don’t have reinforcement backups, as we weren’t taught by our caretakers or teachers to debate ourselves. …Ah, but those old ways are old school.

…And I believe is the cause of us not living our best lives sooner. Until we can get to this more humble place of admitting our minds could be wrong, our outcomes are lesser than they could be.

Of course… this is by no fault of anyone as we were born into this mind and body… but now that we know better, we can do better.

We have to outsmart our programmed machinery.

And for me, that led to awareness, getting past my ego thoughts, and to the root of PTSD thoughts that I previously was oblivious to and then was one day aware (much like someone blindsided).

And you can too can uncover the wounds that need scar healing if you dial back your ego trying to mask imperfection… and if you tune into your deeper mind-body that’ll help reveal blind spots so you can get out of the lesser life and into your peaceful, whole, and abundant life. That’s why quiet time is super helpful.

And in busier moment times, emotional outbursts or displaced anger, irritation, anxiety, and withdrawal sub-feelings and undertones usually mean there are blind spots that need healing.

Blindly in our busy lives, any of us can carry around these past feelings and hurts, that are still presently heavy burdens that disturb our natural mind-body balance.

And if left unattended, they show up as accumulated body stressors that can lead to scientifically-known early aging and chronic diseases.

But you can claim back unnecessary unhappy years and seasons with a little effort on your part…

With humility, openness, and a desire to grow, you will save yourself and open yourself up to better opportunities.

Getting Mind-Body Balanced

1.Being and keeping aware is not overused. It’s imperative to bringing light out of darkness feelings… as is, connecting dots in your past to your present. And consistently flipping the negative thoughts to positives.

…Or said another way, gaining peace of mind, where you have less outbursts and negative reactions. And one day, no outbursts. That’s definitely possible! I’m living evidence 💕

And then, you enjoy more of your day. And you get more out of this life. You meet your higher potential that’s greater than what you originally thought was possible.

You don’t fear uncertainty as you’ve made peace with that, and you worry less (or not at all). You take moments in each day and use them as brand new chances to build off the days before.

And you use your past experiences in a beneficial way. And those new perspectives bring you better outcomes.

And when you believe deeply in your mind-body that all is possible, you speed up your growth and bypass ego’s tricks.

2. Uncover and replace mind-body blockage like that found in PTSD. This means confronting your feelings and questioning why those happen when you feel them. Make them visible.

And if you’re in a temporary funk, call that out. So you can figure it out. Exchange for a loving and life-giving belief.

And one great way to do that is to have a yoga pose that serves as a mind-body reminder.

And habit stack after walking around or whatever your favorite moving activity is. Or do it as a stretch before you get out of bed in the morning.

In the Blue Zones, the living 100 year olds in those concentrated zones do mostly natural activities that use their bodies and not machines for exercise.

And they also celebrate with yoga that’s a natural move in getting up and sitting down. In our younger, modern, and Western societies, we can do that too.

We optimize when we activate our mind-body and are aware that we’re naturally getting up and sitting down, using our body. And that awareness helps to calm us just like active breathwork.

Mind-Body Active Bridge Pose

A natural active bridge is an active body pose in motion. And you can combine with that your deep breaths.

Bridge pose is one you can make active and fun.

Here’s how:

You can use a yoga block to heighten your bridge. You can stack two blocks on the shorter height sides… or use the taller skyscraper building block side as your back support.

You want to place the edge of the block where the top of your tailbone meets your back (and the rest of the block or blocks are toward your buttocks and not your upper back).

Challenge yourself… reach to your outer edge limits!

It’s at that block meeting intersection where your legs take off, bend at the knees, and are grounded by your feet. And the fun comes in when you remove the block.

You can use this as a mind-body balance reminder: where you no longer need a crutch support like a block. And in awareness, you’re removing the yoga block and mental block that could be anything holding you back.

And when you release down, you let go of whatever that is… maybe it’s the how something turns out, control over someone else, past hurts, PTSD, etc. And that can start the process to heal.

And you maybe hold the block (or a dumbbell weight) close to your pelvic area and move your hips up and down.

Use the block as a peaceful symbol that you’re now aware of how what you let go of is easy now to see in front of you, and you know what to do.

…And the block whether it’s under your bridge or in your hands is in your control and helping to build strength in your life. In active moving bridge, you’ll also feel it in your buttocks and upper hind legs (hamstrings), so you have a full mind-body balance pose. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Ayurvedic Series:

Part 1 – Pitta/inflammation

Part 2 – Vata anxiety vs. nervous

Part 3 – Kapha awareness

For a mind-body balance recipe, you can make this star beet granola pan. Beets and cinnamon are good for Vata. Oatmeal is a good meal before practicing yoga. And this is a good snack to help tie you over 🌟

Star Beet Granola Pan

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

plastic wrap

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup raw honey
chocolate, melted
beet powder
crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients and then mix in wet ingredients.
Bake granola for about 25-40 minutes at 325°F or until toasted.
To make chocolate topping. Prepare chocolate on display pan you will be using. Take a piece of plastic wrap and put on top. Add melted chocolate and pour onto plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard. After granola is baked and cooled, you can pour into the pan and then add the hardened chocolate ontop removing the plastic.
To make beet heart: take a star stencil or make a star cutout with cardboard. Add beet powder to create star shape. For fallen star effect, use tweezers to pull out the yellow pepper flakes (found in crushed red pepper flakes) to make a fallen line.

Are You Out of Balance? Kapha Awareness (Part 3)

Kapha awareness can help you with choosing longevity boosting foods and activities.

Pita bread has a lower glycemic index (helps anti-inflammatory) than many breads if you’re not willing to give up your bread… bread can still be a good thing! Easy pita bread recipe below. 🍴

If you’ve been spending time doing CARDIO for health and maybe Kapha awareness, listen up! These 100 year olds don’t rely on treadmills, but natural daily terrain and these life-giving activities that are shared in the “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” documentary movie.

In hot months, we are far away from Kapha season, but good to always have Kapha awareness that can hit us anytime of year.

Natural Kapha season is in the coldest months of the year (winter thru early spring) and we normally bundle up and eat more to keep us warm. It’s part of our natural evolution that falls after Vata autumn season… (you can learn about imbalances with Vata anxiety vs nervous feelings in last week’s Part 2 in this Ayurvedic series).

In Kapha awareness season that’s what this week’s article is about, we also naturally gravitate toward warm comfort foods as we know the cool light foods are Pitta Season that can cause Pitta mind body inflammation.

And if we’re having a Kapha body heavy season outside of natural Kapha season, that can put us out of balance and add more stress on our body keeping score. We know we’re Kapha imbalanced if we’re overeating or run toward processed or fatty foods more than usual.

In the Western world and especially America where I live, junk food is affordable, convenient food. Our societal environments aren’t supporting our longevity.

The opposite and healthiest populations with the largest number of Centenarians are in Loma Linda USA and the other Blue Zones (founded by Dan Buettner and described in his Netflix documentary, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones).

But most areas in the U.S. or the world don’t live those naturally active lifestyles with built-in healthy eating strategies.

In most areas in metropolitan America and where I live, buying and preparing healthy foods takes more time and effort than the convenient, processed food options that are in your face on the road.

These are a couple key takeaways as to why you should care:

For one, eating those less healthy options, add up to weight gain and accumulating a less healthy body that’s keeping score; and are linked to and can lead to chronic inflammations down the road as statistics show.

But another point is that it’s not always just a body issue… it’s a mind and body challenge because the mind is what influences us (the choice makers) most as to what to put in the body. There’s a mind-body connection and on the more surface level it starts with our thoughts. That’s what I learned in Ayurveda.

💡And the aftermaths are in the mind-body connection (internal language). The thoughts, feelings, emotions, daily actions and reactions (in insecurities and fears) show up as symptoms on the body. The strange and uncomfortable body ailments we find on bodies are snowballed by our past thoughts and trauma we’ve endured.

A simple example is why a pimple shows up when you have stress. They start from our thoughts that show up on the face or body the next day or even sooner. And this same explanation is why someone with PTSD thoughts (aware or not) holds onto extra pounds.

…This connect-the-dots could be a revelation for some and one big reason why I’m so passionate about restoring imbalances for healthy reasons and daily happiness. 💕

And it’s not any of our faults, as more than 90% of our day is run on the subconscious mind level. We have the job to connect-the-dots in self-awareness and knowledge.

Sometimes this can be coming from a hormone imbalance where we don’t know when to stop eating. And a rule like eating to 80% of feeling full won’t help in those cases.

…But as decision makers for our actions and desires, we can set our own controls in place that don’t require excessive hardwork (like calorie counting or hours of exercise).

And those ways are not smart either because that’s not how our natural minds and bodies most efficiently work.

…If we tell ourselves, we can’t eat something, then our minds have a field day with us and we just want the eye-candy food even more (the “no ___” translates into energy toward the devil food cake or easy-greasy foods).

…And our bodies don’t want depletion of calories, it wants dense-nutrition.

And I can attest to this as I tried to live on pasta and low-fat cookies in my 20s… how did that work? 👎 …and what happened on the scale? 📈 …and like many of us who tried diets, it ended up like a yo-yo effect 🪀

Plus, restricted to changes in no longer being able to eat certain types or quantities of foods for the same quality of life we had is an uphill climb. That means we have to learn new habits if we don’t want to sacrifice our body’s health or how we look.

Finding better habits that work for us is the ticket to success in maintaining a consistent weight you’re happy with. And some may think, DUH, I’ve been trying that but it hasn’t been easy.

Finding a new perspective from your past is one of the ways out. For example, some want to live longer to see their grandkids grow up, and others value feeling or looking better and eating healthy is one of the strategies.

For me, I want to respect my body as the only one I got. And while weight gain isn’t my Vata issue, putting a hard stop on snacking all day and closing the kitchen is.

I can use this analogy… when I started drinking coffee in the morning, I found that my 2 cups habit led to an eventual bottomless mug.

And I’m a home baker who doesn’t naturally measure. But I naturally keep track of time, so I used that easy tracking.

…One day, instead of counting cups I decided to use a coffee clock as a more effective tool. 🕛

And anywhere you are in the world, you’re on a world clock. And that clock has a time. So I use 12 noon as my morning quitting time. And allow myself a light latte dessert drink after lunch.

And in that example, I’ve created a habit stack onto my lunch time. And a habit stick that works year-round.

Maybe you have the same dilemma with coffee o’clock around the clock, or its food o’clock all day and all night. I know that too as I would snack from the time I woke up… I mean, I had to put food in my belly so the coffee had a non-acidic soft place to land.

…And then I continued snacking in the late morning until late at night, and sometimes skipping dinner but still snacking. Mind you, my snacks are healthy nuts, popcorn, and nutritional foods 90% of the time. But snacking is snacking.

Eating something and whenever you want is putting your body to work.

And I did this every day 365 times a year, like most of us have been trained to do since we were young.

Until I did this one thing… I quit eating after lunch on 1-2 days a week. And again I used time as a tracker. And I learned that this was healthy.

And not what I was previously told needed to happen which was to snack every 4-5 hours I was awake. And not doing that, gave my body a well-deserved break from digesting

And after I did that for more than 6 months (8 months to date), my body got adjusted to this new way that’s metabolically good for the body and all its running parts.

I ending up eating less food. And I started seeing some tone to my torso. Hmm… not bad. But for me the best part is the simplifying my life part not having to think about eating good foods all the time.

…I started out my career in hotel catering and worked professionally with foods for a decade, so that’s always been HUGE for me. I’m passionate about foods.

But not having to prepare home meals all the time or find a snack substitution is liberating. Food is joy in my book, and taking a break for a day makes me appreciate the foods even more.

And, I use that non-eating time to be productive… and unlike a snack break commercial interrupt, get more things done besides stuffing my face. 😊

And as intermittent fasting is trending, research is demystifying that it’s healthy. Your body loves a good healthy trend. When our bodies carry too much weight it’s a heavy burden that can upset organ functions along our GI tract, heart, and pancreas creating insulin as a helper.

I shared my starting intermittent fasting journey earlier in 2023 that’s part of my weekly routine. No more uncomfortable what is that? stomach feeling. And we know the gut is responsible for over 90% of our happy hormones.

I allow my body to detox longer than through a night of sleep. And you can too if you’re a natural Vata, Pitta, or Kapha body.

And if you’re finding yourself holding onto extra pounds you’d like to shed off and have tried all the diets that brought you back to Square-One (or similar to my weight cycling diet experience, weighing higher months later), then IF is something you want to embrace as your last-stop try.

I’ve put together my free ultimate IF guide, that has all the info. to get started all-in-one-place that you can check out for FREE.

And in free-ing Kapha awareness and celebrating our healthy Kaphas that make us lovely human beings, we can be aware of our Kapha mind imbalances that rob our peaceful moods.

We can get out of balance with our lazy moods that we can’t shake off easily. This can start from anything including overeating, being bored, discouraged, or wanting a more exciting, creative life.

…Or another sign is we act clingy or needy (and we have Kapha awareness on this since close ones have told us nicely to backoff).

…Or we start to accumulate things (opposite of minimalist) and they show up in our lives and we notice when we consciously pay attention in Kapha awareness.

And all these daily actions (or inactions) let us know that we have an opportunity to change our Kapha mind imbalances that affect our daily perspectives and outlook.

And Kapha awareness is the first step to get you out (and Ayurvedic awareness for any of the mind-body imbalances), so you can daily make healthy choices that help to restore your balances.

…Cleanup and prevention positively impacts your upcoming seasons and life, so you want to nip-imbalances-in-the-bud. 🌹

Here is a super simple recipe that you can bake in your apartment oven and/or during warm months where you want to keep the oven low.

Easy Pita Bread

Pita is a great accompaniment for meals. The same ingredients used in general bread making is used in pita bread making. The technique slightly varies that gives the desired hollow pita pocket.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

flour of choice (e.g. wheat and plain flour)
water
instant yeast
salt

Instructions

Mix ingredients and form a bread dough. Knead for a few minutes by hand is fine. Set in a covered bowl to proof rise. Then punch down dough.
Roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick or as thin as you can without holes. This is different that most bread methods because you're uniformly flattening the dough.
Cut out your pitas. For mini-pitas, you can use a drinking glass to cut out. And then pickup and move pita with small cake decorating spatula to baking sheet. Alternatively, you can roll out dough on the baking sheet "as is" and pull up the dough scraps that won't be used (and you'll be left with the cut outs).
Bake on 350°F oven (good for apartment ovens) and keeping heat energy low. Then bake until puffed up and golden browned, depending on size.

Anxiety vs. Nervous – Are You Out of Balance? (Part 2)

Anxiety vs. nervous feelings can be better calmed with deep breathing but they show different body symptoms…

Wellness prescription if you’re feeling exceptionally Vata body: a comforting warm soup with calming mint for body aches 🌱

With back to school air and a new season, we can easily get out of balance. In transitions, we can have a Vata anxiety vs. nervous complex happening in our connected mind-body.

But we can lean into restoring our natural balance whether we’re naturally and mostly Vata mind-body. And below I share some valuable tips for your work, school, arising family situations, and other transitions you may be facing.

When we prepare for Vata season, our Vata runs the ship if we’re naturally mostly Vata or if Vata is our dosha balance we need to restore.

Naturally Vata bodies feel at home with outdoor cooler temps and leaves changing and falling. But external situations and transitions in a new season can especially cause anxiety and wreak stress havoc on our bodies keeping score.

And that can add to a strong Vata worry mind to stir up the Vata complex situation. If you’re naturally a Vata mind-body (that is, mind and body), all things equal, you’re naturally better with change than a Kapha mind-body who resists change.

But any of us can get the wind knocked out of our sails in life’s complex situations that shows us and our ever changing bodies what we’re made of.

And life has shown us young and old if we’re naturally Vata, by how we react with uncontrollable symptoms of panic or anxiety. These are classic signs of high Vata.

And if we keep that internal to us, then we can be high functioning but still Vata is our natural way.

And since this Part 2 week of the Ayurvedic series is about Vata, being aware of the obvious problematic anxiety characteristics below can save your from a season of aches and unenjoyment.

Some are more subtle. For example, one that can happen to any of us humans (with any dosha profile), is getting a headache even if it’s harmless and temporary.

One friend I was recently talking to said she had a specific headache feeling that she had experienced before. My first reaction thought was, did you drink enough water today? I know Vatas are on the dry side, and I know this person is a Vata.

…which by the way, I know everyone’s Vata, Kapha, Pitta (dosha) natural and imbalanced dosha current profiles based on a few simple answers, that’s 100% much easier to diagnose than a headache.

…unless it’s just lack of drinking water, which is what we discovered in this friend’s case that was immediately solved.

But some people won’t research these small body signs or they just pop a pill without thinking twice…

To me, as a health nut 🤪 in a sensitive body, knowing a snapshot dosha profile (balance and imbalance) is a lifesaver because some things are easily restored from that perspective that need no pills or medical intervention. But most Western world people aren’t daily Ayurvedic aware, and certainly not at a preventative level.

And in our lives, if we choose healthy and happy ways for our primary doshas, then we prevent less than optimal daily living. Joy could be ours sooner and everyday with an awareness in our lifestyle choices as culprits.

We’re creatures of habit programmed to do the same even if it’s to our detriment, unless and until we’re aware there’s a better proven formula or something worth making the change for.

And when we’re aware in this moment (and every waking moment), we get to feel sensitized and as best we can. And that takes us to a creative place! We ‘re running on a higher, conscious energy frequency. And that just makes me want to sing 🎶

I’ve grown in deeper spirituality, but I couldn’t tap into these higher places until I got out of the daily, imbalanced culture and corporate work lifestyles I was repeating in my life, that didn’t agree with me.

…It was like, I was air and earth mingling with oil and fire. It was only after I took some life risks that I could see I needed to run to fresh air to thrive. I had to step out from some of the proven ways and do things my way that didn’t have a guide.

And before that I saw signs that showed up as stress, anxiety, and worry. And if I didn’t remind myself of how those feelings felt when I had a good season, I would easily get roped back into those incompatible situations staring me in the face as my surrounding opportunities.

And I’m sharing this because I know that’s how it is for many of us who don’t want to turn down opportunities or fight what culture teaches us is respected (and sounds good on paper), or disappoint people who have influence in our lives.

Our feelings toward letting down is temporary, but our regrets in unhappy life choices is permanent. Maybe that’s just the encouragement you need to make a leap.

If we listen and say yes! to ourselves to taking higher risks, then we’re fulfilling our highest calling. And I don’t know what’s higher than highest… where if these were our last days on earth, we would still be showing up in those fulfilling areas that ease stress.

Occasionally feeling stress and nervous is healthy and means you’re trying in life. If you had no stress or life hurdles, that means you’re leading a life where there are no challenges or growth. And that would eventually become a dull life, leaving so much purpose-filling potential on the table.

Our goal is to have joy and not to have everyday stress (or in every fiber cell of being).

If it’s a season of anxiety vs. nervous situations, then finding an exit would be your better bet.

The difference I like to describe between anxiety and nervousness is that with nervousness you have a new opportunity ahead of you.

Many go into an interview with sweaty palms or a presentation with butterflies or summersaults in the stomach.

Those nervous feelings often disappear in the first few minutes after breaking the ice or at the start of the event, and then your body gets back to its normal rhythm.

Nervous situations get you one step closer to something bigger. You grow because you’re putting yourself in situations that looking back become your memorable lessons learned experiences. It gets easier over practice.

With anxiety, your anxiety doesn’t improve each time you are encountered with a similar situation. You aren’t meant to be in that situation and your body is screaming to get out, as though a bear were chasing you. 🐻 Sometimes your body is reacting to your old brain signals, and when aware you can rewrite those thoughts.

Your anxiety vs. nervous feelings are a good way to remind yourself next time you’re put in those decision moments of do I do this again or do I change course?

And here are some more characteristics to consider…

Vata Anxiety vs. Nervous Feelings

Anxiety intensity and duration: anxiety takes over (e.g. anxiety or panic attack). It can last for minutes, hours, or days, and settle in longer if no measures are taken to improve the situation. For example, if you’re in a new social situation, often the nervousness goes away after you find someone comfortable to talk to that’s different than high-functioning social anxiety feelings where you can’t wait to exit.

Anxiety feelings: there’s nothing good in anxiety except seeing that it’s a warning. The healthy goal is to get away from what’s triggering the anxiety, and not trying to overcome anxious feelings that are naturally pointing you in another direction.

Anxiety lingers uncomfortably in the foreground or background of the mind-body until the threat is completely gone.

Unlike a threat, a nervous response often turns into obvious relief and/or joy for putting yourself in the situation after it’s over. And leads to excitement or thriving on another favorable opportunity level.

Anxiety and Worry

If you have anxiety and worry running at the same, then that can be debilitating in daily functioning, like a physical symptom can.

Awareness is the first step to get you out so you don’t suffer a season. Re-shuffle your life, change route, or take bold risks.

But if you can’t get out of your situation, think of what you could gain out of the situation when you’re on the other side. Use your past situations as a reminder to what positively can come out of an anxiety vs. nervous or worrisome situation after the fact. 🌈 And use your anxious situations to victoriously learn how to be calm and get joy in any season.

✅If you want to see what your body is trying to tell you this season, take the 2-minute Body Balance Quiz. And if you recently did that or need more, a next easy 10-minute step you could do, is to get your personalized mind-body calm recipe.

Print Recipe

One-Bowl Orange Date Muffin For Calming Anxiety

If you're feeling anxious, the orange zest and dates will be great for you.

Course desserts

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

3 finely chopped dates
3/4 cup flour (can combine with gluten-free flours) + 2 tbsp flour
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (or almond milk)
orange zest from an orange

Instructions

Combine ingredients. Bake on 325°F for about 25 minutes or until set.
Add orange zest for zhugh.

Are You Out of Balance? Pitta Mind-Body Inflammation

Cooling Pitta mind-body Inflammation with summer fruits and Jell-O — Jell-O doesn’t win nutrition points, but helps for a happy mind and Pitta cooled body (like these peach choux) 😋

I’m starting with Pitta mind-body inflammation for a series on mind-body awareness and creating more harmony and balance to the drum of your body-mind or mind-body.

Specifically, if you’re not sure what’s wrong, and at the least you’re feeling less than usual yourself, or internally having a unusually high moody out-of-sorts season, I’ve got you.

Because most mood issues are self-curable. And we all know people we’ve come across that are moody (…we would never admit our own occasions though 😊).

I didn’t grow up openly expressing moods other than tears, because we weren’t afforded the luxury to feel and express as much. In fact, you wouldn’t find anxious or frustration openly discussed in schools back then, as now acceptable highlighted sub-moods to happy or sad.

…And along those lines, anger or aggressive moods weren’t emotionally addressed, and that leads to Pitta mind-body inflammation. So, this week I start with Pitta mind-body where anger is a clear outward sign opportunity to address the inside expression.

Pitta tension runs high in the air in these ending summer days and school year starts. Transitions can test any of us.

At any moment we can have an off-balance reaction in our mind when something sets us off. But if that becomes a week and a season, then that becomes a mind-body problem we would endure.

BUT for better living… we should restore Pitta mind-body inflammation, so we can thrive and not just survive in this one life we get because we know better. Nice reminder, huh? 😉

Sometimes all we need is the awareness and knowledge to know what to do, that experience and age can help us with in wisdom.

And in today’s summer heat awareness, if you’re feeling overheated in mind or body, then you’re embracing some heavy Pitta compounding in this already Pitta season.

If it’s causing a problem when you observe in your self-witnessing thought life, then you want to cool it down.

See, the real problem is our shouting ego wants to act like everything is fine when it’s not. And in the act, sends bullhorn loud messages. 📢

But aware and outsmarting your ego, you can proactively restore and fix your moods by daily small-effort choices that takes little effort. It’s not immediate like winning the lottery or a trip around the world can do 🗺️, but it turns the tide in your mind-body.

You gradually restore back to equilibrium so you don’t spend more days in dissatisfied living or misery.

I learned this in one season when I had off-the charts high Pitta daily that I could look at a clock and know it was Pitta o’clock. And it wasn’t 5 o’clock, so jumping in a pool didn’t work in those hours.

And it was winter time, so an indoor pool would’ve been the only pool meditation option.

And in your case, you have a different makeup or one that’s unique to you.

A Vata body’s natural way is on the cooler side. With cooler season, bundling up in the winter with turtlenecks and dormant turtle moves would be aligned in balance. If you’re a Kapha, then you’re also running these cool tendencies, but less dry.

And following the temps was the drumbeat I moved to. Why am I pointing this out? Because you know you’re not in nature’s balance when you’re feeling different body temps going on that changes your tempo and moods.

See where I’m going with this?…

Sometimes you see guys in shorts in the winter, and you may think it’s the extra body hair like bears to keep grizzly warm, but usually it’s the high Pitta trait common in males that exude this. And instead of feeling cool-cold, it’s warm-hot, and that causes unsaid mood changes too.

…And this can happen to any of us as we all have traces of Pitta, Kapha, and Vata.

My work situation triggered that one specific winter where my Vata was outta whack and showing more obvious Pitta mind-body inflammation signs.

Knowing what your personal makeup is, and what your imbalances are is useful because then you can get a formula to confidently change the tide and not live in a season of unnecessary discomfort, that up to now you’ve written off as subtle moods.

And the first step is to know what’s on fire so you can reverse the effects and then enjoy this season in mind-body calm peace.

Cool The Heated Body-Mind Steps

Weather hot vs. cold may sound like small, silly talk, but it’s a good indicator of your balance temperature. It can definitely be more silently dangerous than stress because it takes a while to accumulate.

And stress triggers can be the cause of Pitta mind-body inflammation… like a low-heat slow pot simmering. And overheating is the fiery pan that can cause a fire.

Heated humans don’t pose environmental danger (unless we deliberately react badly). But we do possess the harmful characteristics that can overheat our bodies.

And at its worse can shutdown or shout out like in burnout.

And it can definitely feel fiery inside us (like when we bite into a hot chili pepper)…

We get clues when we have a short fuse for others’ behaviors that irritate us and cause us to be more opinionated or quick to judge.

…Or we can have outward skin inflammations like rashes, redness, or heartburn.

These are all different signs that your body shows you because it wants to cool down. That’s when you want to nip it in the bud so it doesn’t grow from one spot.

You want to team with your body and run in the opposite direction.

But the usual way is we keep unintentionally igniting our mind-body’s heat by not making changes.

And that’s what’s really needed as part of the prescribed cool down: all food, thought, and mind-body intake.

And doing the right steps prevent Pitta mind-body inflammation. You do have a say in the matter.

But when your body has reached a boiling point that’s common with our busy lives, these are the core body cool down prescriptions (that I think are worth repeating especially in the hot summer).

Intensity:

Athletes do this well because they’re more proned to experience inflammation and sport injuries putting themselves in tough body situations.

And when there’s red inflammation, there are two solutions: ice and ice water.

A cold dip is good, and as painful as that first freezing cold dip is to the skin’s touch, the body is screaming “more please!”

Running toward a bear could sound easier in the moment, but stay as long as you can bear. Our bodies are wiser than we are and will calm down when we calm it down.

And like a fire, what matters is:

Immediacy:

Ice as soon as possible. Don’t wait until you get home. Because inflammation grows and can spread into complicated areas if not attended to. You wouldn’t wait to put out a fire, so in the same way act fast on your body’s inflammation sign.

You may remember in school… if you got hurt in gym class, you went to the nurse’s office and she gave you immediate care. As adults, somehow we think getting through meetings or taking care of everyone else’s needs first is more important. Plus, our bodies were more resilient in those younger years.

Awareness:

If your inflammation is not getting better in a few days after icing that may need OTC relief, then take it seriously to seek more intense protocols or medical intervention as though your body is on fire. Because in a way, it is.

See it as your body’s cry for help. You’re not overreacting. And infections (that inflammations can turn into) are real and can happen at any time.

And in bi-directional effects, when you’ve taken care of your body, take care of your mind…

Running independently is a heated mind. When it’s so bad like in burnout or after the burn when you can’t take anymore… take the right steps so you snap out sooner and avoid a season of catchup from inflammation misery.

Prevention and quick restoration is a healthy decision and lifestyle choice you get to make.

🛒 You can checkout this list of 200 anti-inflammatory foods and/or purchase a comprehensive guide with specific food category lists, and learn what’s nutrition research important to know in anti-inflammatory foods and grocery shopping. 🌱

Peach Profiteroles

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, French

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup flour (combine bread and all purpose flour recommended)
1 tbsp butter (a small amount will do you for the lighter effect)
1/4 cup milk or nut milk
1-2 eggs (thick, smooth, and pipeable batter)
1 ripe peach
thick plain yogurt or Greek yogurt

Instructions

Cook flour, butter, and milk.
Let cool and add egg. If the batter isn't thick enough then add an additional egg.
Bake on 350°F for about 30-35 minutes.
Optional: brush a whisked egg (egg wash) for additional shine before baking.
Fill with yogurt and decorate with peach bits.

Pool Meditation Idea For Ego Daily Calm

Pool meditation is underrated. And so is sea salt therapy especially for cooling Pitta.

Pink Himalayan sea salt therapy for cooling.

One of the intentions of Meditation is to quiet the mind that’s always running. And that’s how I came to discover pool meditation.

In any meditation, the peace is in the silence. And I have a pool meditation idea that worked for me… and I’m passing on to you in case you want to give it a try!

BTW, I am the first to admit I’m not a good half-conscious meditator. I prefer to silence my mind awake fully conscious and eyes open. And whatever works for you, works!

Specifically isolating the mind’s ego is a good goal for your meditation 🎯

…Because we’re stuck with our ego for life, and good or bad, whether we’re meditating or not.

And our ego is a good part of why life goes back to the way it was after the recent meditation effect gradually wears off. Even if that’s just ennui (boredom) that the ego can turn into woes-me.

When we go back to our lives from peace and meditation, the ego snaps right back into active mode. And it wants to be right (not necessarily happy).

So it’s a great idea to enhance the calming meditation effects and have it last longer.

I tried this for the first time years ago when I was practicing how to be conscious of the mind-body connection.

…Long before my first meditation experiences (when photos were fuzzy and taken from snap cameras 😉). Like traditional meditation, we could sit still in a chair or Indian-style sitting position on the floor.

And today for any of us, ongoing calm can be the day and every day when focused and engaged in the moment (that’s part of our modern day self-awareness movement).

And long before my first meditation experience, I stepped into this calm discovery decades ago in an indoor swimming pool… 💭

In one temporary corporate job I held many moons ago, there were two great job benefits. The first one was leaving at 5 pm that was not a common occurrence in any modern work in the Western world. You probably know what I’m talkin’ about!

And the second benefit (and first ever perk for me) was use of the indoor pool attached to the conference center I worked in.

That summer, every weekday at 5 pm on the dot I got excited about my day change. I jumped into my swimsut and I transformed into my meditation calm.

The first few minutes in the pool cooled me off (both in mind and body). And the longer I stayed in, the more calm I felt. Even on the drive home I could feel the stress of the world melt away.

pool meditation with a rainbow decorated unicorn float is always fun!

I still felt alive when I got home, that’s not the usual feeling from an exhausting work day around work people. And on some days I had a second job to go to. I had caught my second wind in the pool environment.

I didn’t need any special breathing techniques or calming meditation narration. The pool created a naturally calming effect on the Pitta summer side of things that’s heightened in the heat.

When you step into a cooling pool, it does your body good. Your body recognizes the environment as healing. Yes, it’s a healing pool of water. And our bodies are mostly water, so it’s natural osmosis.

You cool down with the shimmering body of blue water around you, and take yourself out of the usual dry earth we’re mostly around. Your mind can travel a million miles away from your life.

So it’s also an escape. 💭

And that’s how calming pool meditation can be for you where you dip your toes in this tranquil setting. You slip away from the earthly troubles and enter a new realm. Not to mention the blue ripple color is mesmerizing, serene, and good for eye-open meditators like me (…and maybe you too 👀).

You get a part two in your day like you’re starting a new day in the same day. And sometimes a start over if the first half wasn’t so good or relaxing.

Some cool pool meditation tips:

Sit by the pool steps to start with so your body is partially in the water. Then gradually enter the pool water. For indoor pool meditation, I like to hang along the pool’s edge like I’m reading a book, but I’m actually reading the calm in myself. I’m just chillin’ and forgetful of time. 😊

You not only cool and calm from stress, you work on letting go of those negative thoughts that your ego feeds you non-stop throughout the 9-5 day. So you do yourself healthy good.

Also, pool meditation only works well in a quiet pool setting. Not an outdoor pool with splish splashing kids playing or a pool class with instructor and a headset.

You’d be better off under the shade of a tree or in a cool spot inside, but it won’t be the same as an inside pool. Hotels usually have these indoor pools that are almost always quiet.

…Then when you get back home, capture the way you felt.

This is an amazing power and tool that you have control over. You don’t have to wait until the next free day or moments you have. You just reset yourself in that pool calm place in your imagination.

Your body may even cool down just from the thought. That’s the healthy power of the mind-body. 🌱

You may even want to have a blue wavy color or pool photo in front of you as a reminder. Visual cues are so powerful to empower you. 🎉

In contrast, a bright photo or retro Barbie colors in front of you invigorates, that can just heat things up in your mind. Bright red is even more alarming than the color of hot chili peppers and fire trucks (but BLUE is a soothing color in all shades).

…If you’re a bit Kapha minded these days, maybe that’s what you need! 💕

We had a neon pink light outside the meditation room that looks like a photo developing room (…maybe you remember those where the negatives 🎞️turned to positives 📸?). And from this room, we came out as transformed half-asleep meditated beings 😉

You may never have this glowing experience that I had, BUT you can do your own meditation wherever you are… or test pool meditation and see if that’s your meditation jam. 🧘🏻‍♀️

And from there you can get your creative personal essence back in case you’re having a creative mental block or dry spell season of ideas… or searching for your life’s purpose. And this is just one of many techniques that can get your cool-calm-and collected swag back as a first step. 😎

Here’s one dessert you can enjoy.

Vitamin C Boost Tropical Fruit Plate

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

Tropical fruits, chopped
Meringue (or grit pie bottom)
1 15 ounce cream of coconut can

Instructions

For Pavolva, whip egg whites to make meringue base. Add to a pan that will be your presenting dish/pan or use a Silpat for easy transfer. Alternatively you can make a grits pie base that's quicker to bake, with grits, egg, and coconut oil that complements tropical fruit flavors.
Bake in 200°F oven until it feels solid and formed (like packed snow).
Decorate with fruit (dragonfruit, pineapple, passion fruit, and guava). If you want to use less fruit sugar or for a breakfast Pavlova, you can alternatively add berries and green bananas.
Pipe coconut cream (solid flesh of coconut)