DAILY Indigestion is a pharmaceutical company’s dream, which is a travesty when so many of the problems are treatable by taking responsibility for our diet and emotional balance. The inability to correctly process food goes under a myriad of names, complaints, and degrees of difficulty including: IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, colitis, heartburn, lactose intolerance, diverticulitis, colic, Crohn’s disease, ulcer, celiac disease. Stress is often a trigger for upset digestion because the digestive tract is supplied with a family of nerves that sense what’s been eaten so that they can then trigger correct secretions and their reflexes to send waves that affect the entire digestive process. Consider the issue from a meta standpoint. Ask the question, “What is it I can’t stomach?” “What in my day am I not digesting properly?” “Why can I not understand, or assimilate this emotionally?” Clearly any serious issues must be addressed by a physician, and will not be addressed here. But the following are practical suggestions that vastly improve digestion. Balance Alkaline with acid producing foods. Here is a short basic list to help: The following promote Alkalinity: Lemons, Watermelon, Limes, Grapefruit, Mangoes, Papayas Most greens, especially leafy greens: Asparagus, Onions, Vegetable Juices, Parsley, Raw Spinach, Broccoli, Garlic Lemon Water, Herb Teas, green teas Maple Syrup, Rice Syrup, stevia Dates, figs, Melons, Grapes, Kiwi, Berries, Apples, Pears, Raisins Okra, Squash, Green Beans, Beets, Celery, Lettuce, Zucchini, Sweet Potato Almonds, Olive Oil Cut the fat.Fatty foods disrupt the normal movement of the digestive tract, as well as clog arteries, cause cholesterol, slow the metabolic fires, and make us heavy and depressed. Is that chocolate cake or fatty burger really worth it? If it is, then relish every morsel. Become conscious of its cost V.S. its delish-iss-ness. Avoid or cut back on meats, fatty or otherwise. It is… Read more »
Read moreSearch Results for: Savasana
Anxiety & Stress
Anxiety often creates a higher heart rate, distracted thinking, and fearful reactions. Basic Tips Slow heart rate with deep, mindful breathing. Lie in Savasana and slow down the metabolic rate. Listen to slow, beautiful music and visualize yourself in a slow steady dance with your heart. Be more physical. Activate the heart rate. Be slower. Meditate. In other words, pay attention. Fast or slow, you can’t outrun anxiety. It needs to be cared for and loved, not ignored. If you don’t know why you’re stressed, then ask it why it’s here now? What does it have to teach you? What are its gifts? Laugh….especially at stupid things. Force yourself with fake laughter at first. Make a friend do dumb “ha ha” noises with you. Take laughter Yoga. Watch ha ha movies. You might be so stressed-out you cry. That’s good too. Get a pet. Pet it. Treat it as you need to be treated. Make time for massage. If you cannot see someone, do it on yourself, especially soles of feet, palms of hands, back of neck and head. (Ayurvedic notes below for specific oils.) 101 Reminders: Avoid caffeine and sugar, both of which deplete the body. Of course this goes for drugs, smoking, hours of TV, endless loud noise, and bad company. Much as we might be addicted to these intoxicants, they take us down and compound anxiety. Go to sleep earlier in the night when possible, if insomnia attacks link to insomnia notes. Learn basic information about the chakras. Learn to clear and clean them, which will balance the physical mind-body, which are just the tip of what’s going on below in the energy levels. Balancing the chakras brings hormones and therefore emotions into balance. ( Read “Energy Medicine” by Donna Eden; the ancients–Leadbeater, and A. Bailey.) The… Read more »
Read morePrimitive Forces
In this seasonal time of feeling trapped in outworn-outgrown grooves, and having to release many of the year’s hopes and dreams, we activate deeper levels, check into soul territory, and seek Scorpionic regeneration. As the earth contracts toward winter hibernation, a part of us longs to be her microcosm, to imitate her long, last sigh toward Savasana. Our primitive selves yearn to settle into winter’s long rest…unless you are in sunny climes where you are playing tennis. We sniff the wind, looking for signs of the year ahead, windblown leaves hopeing New Year’s lives will somehow be more fabulous than the present disarray; this flying and feeling at the mercy of chance… God’s ‘eenie meenie miney mo theory. In the scurry of chaotic days, and too much-muchness, dancing as a blown leaf seems a magical possibility. But November’ Scorpio energies are too primitive a force field to allow flitting about. If you are feeling the push for life to go underground, or at least slow to a long sigh, then sit with an image, a symbol, an animal that walks you toward your soul. Choose something powerful that can hold the too high vibrations, the brittle sounds, the careless neglect, the overweening demands and put them where they belong, in the trash. Then surround yourself with silence, stillness, breath, contact with the earth, a hand to hold. Asana: Vrschikasana/Scorpion Pose. Knee and bend forward, forearms parallel, the distance between the shoulders. Lift the head and chest, exhale to swing legs up overhead. Bend the knees, dropping feet toward the head, or on the head if very flexible. Keep chest open, press arms into floor. Breathe long and evenly. Afterward, do a forward fold to relieve any strain on lower back. Health Notes: Lungs expand, arms and back are strengthened, and… Read more »
Read moreEquinox Ritual
As the earth held her moment of perfect balance between night & day, a tiny band of brothers circled a fire to celebrate. We stood as witnesses, called as our ancestors had been called to celebrate ‘The Queen,’ to partake and believe in her mysteries. In this last breath before tidal waves of change create different lives, and ways of being, we cradled ourselves in a time-out, gathering to be present for one another, and to honor Gaia’s edge of autumn. We chanted with voices bound in common desire. We painted symbolic faces that reflected the polarity of light and dark. We offered bodies through Salutations. Finally, we drank the Queen’s health, and ours, with rich, red wines. We did all we could to please her, to pay homage to her beautiful resilience, that she might see herself loved, As rituals go, it was not remarkable for its size or grandeur. It was not remarkable for literacy, or beauty, except for the night herself. Perhaps it lives on only in the memory of those present. Or, perhaps that fire, that brand of brothers, that ritual, are still moving out, touching hearts minds away, making other ritual possible, prompting other celebrations that treasure and sustain Gaia’s seasons and cycles. Perhaps, once again the ancestors move through us as guardians Asana: Malasana/Garland Pose. There are several variations, but the classic description is to squat down as low on the haunches as possible, with the feet together, heels down. To move it into more advanced levels, widen the knees, move the trunk forward between knees, and take the hands around shins to clasp behind the back. On an exhale, extend head and chest forward, and rest head on the earth/floor. Clasping a strap is helpful in learning this pose. Health Notes: This pose… Read more »
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