Health & Fitness Archives - Page 2 of 5

The Courage Of The Seed

This past weekend I, along with 31 beautiful souls, completed our 200 yoga teacher training. 10 weekends, 108 asanas, mudras, mantras, and an expansion of soul, body, and mind.

To think that we all met in this time and space “randomly” would be far from the truth.

I am in gratitude and humbled by everyone’s strength, courage, vulnerability, heart, and of course wise teachings from our Rasa tribe leader Greta Hill and a multitude of other teachers who graced us with their wisdom.

Yoga has been a practice and place where I have been able to return to for strength and vitality, and I am honored to have learned the art and soul of this practice at a more in-depth level.

And how beautiful it is to wrap up Winter and step into Spring?

We all planted a seed, a rooted intention to begin this 200 hour journey, and to watch this seed continue to blossom is this sweet, magical unfolding will be truly a mystical experience.

Mark Nepo said it best in this poem below:

All the buried seeds crack open in the dark, the instant they surrender to a process they can’t see.

What a powerful lesson is the beginning of spring.

All around us, everything small and buried surrenders to a process that none of the buried parts can see.

And this innate surrender allows everything edible and fragrant to break ground into a life we call spring.

In nature, we are quietly given countless models of how to give ourselves over to what appears dark and hopeless, but which is ultimately an awakening beyond all imagining.

As a seed buried in the earth cannot imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt imagine itself loved or at peace.

The courage of the seed is that once cracking, it cracks all the way.

~Mark Nepo

Whatever journey you yourself have been on this past Winter – trust the process, have faith in the unfolding, watch the magic.

Here’s to planted seeds and watching them bloom.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Kristopher Allison on Unsplash

What Can Put A Smile On Your Face Today?

Today’s post is short and sweet, and the message is simple:

Do one thing today that makes you happy!

For me lately, it’s taking advantage of this brewy Seattle weather, creating space and personal time to read books on vibrational frequency and quantum physics. It’s quite fascinating and with a side of hot coffee, you just can’t beat it.

So, I’m curious… what’s one thing you can do today that makes you smile?

Maybe it’s helping someone smile themselves, or paying for someone’s parking meter when it’s about to expire, maybe it’s a hot bath, lighting a candle for some much needed quiet time, or writing a love letter to yourself.

Whatever it may be I invite you to reflect and see what comes up for you today. Ask yourself, what would put a smile on my face? What small thing can I do for me today?

And even better… when we can uplift ourselves, we naturally uplift others.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Using The Breath To Transform Difficult Emotions

In a previous post we talked about how to love every situation, even the bad ones. In this post I’ll dig into one important step we can take when our immediate, strong reaction is to turn away and ignore these tough situations.

For the times when we want to straight run away and ignore certain emotions such as anger, hurt, sadness, jealousy, etc., we need to deploy one thing – our breath.

Using our breath to “digest” these emotions will help us from turning away, to turning IN.

It’s said in indigenous Peruvian shamanic/spiritual culture that elders would guide people to push the emotion down to the stomach and breath through it in order to digest and work through tough emotions.

I discovered this Peruvian practice after implementing this breath work for myself and wasn’t surprised at all to find out! Especially with deeply similar practices from other traditions such as those from Yoga, Buddhism, and even the Whim Hoff method of breath work!

Clearly there’s a reason why breath is such a powerful tool to bringing us back to our essence. Our true “self” amidst the harshest of emotions.

The next time you find yourself wanting to turn away take a moment, wherever you are, to BREATHE.

Breathe as heavy, fast, and as loudly as you need to and focus on turning inward. Really look at what you are digesting and allow the breath to do the work. Be with every breath as you discover and unfold the workings of the emotion.

Toward the end of the session (anywhere from 5-15 minutes) you’ll discover that you allowed the emotion to pass, or at least lessen a significant degree, and likely have uncovered a new finding about yourself. Whether that’s more mindfulness, awareness of true self, a deeper capacity to forgive, more love, etc., there will be an empowering shift within you.

So here’s to the first thing we ever did as humans – breathe, and to give thanks toward this life giving practice of breath work.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Eli DeFaria on Unsplash

How I Cured Severe PMS

I’ve debated for as long as my writings have submerged whether or not I wanted to divulge this part of my life. Not because it’s personal, but because the “cure” didn’t come in the form of a person or special herbal supplement. The cure was actually something so simple yet required a miracle mindset to achieve.

Let me start from the beginning.

For as long as I could remember I had debilitating PMS symptoms. From intense cravings, bloating up to 5-7 pounds in water weight, irritability, intense emotions, and this was the clincher for me – depression.

Like clockwork every 2 weeks I would dread the 14 day mark where these symptoms would arrive and drive me crazy until the 3rd day into my menstrual cycle. I began tracking every period so that I can brace myself and prepare for the 2 weeks out of every month (that’s 6 months of the year by the way) where I would need to mentally strap myself in for the ride.

Researching cures was a part time job. During every break and bedtime reading it was reading the latest scientific research on which herbal supplement, exercise, hormone treatment might possibly be the cure for me. I was searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow… and the Unicorn.

I tried visiting multiple doctors and every emerging biohack that existed, and while I saw incremental changes it was nothing compared to the peace I so deeply desired.

Birth control pills were out of the question. I tried it once and cried for no reason in public and it wasn’t until my mother asked if I made any changes to my supplement regimen that I realized it was the pill that wasn’t working for me.

What truly helped was getting in tune with my body. The first time I ever realized this was when I went gluten free after having done an elimination diet when I first started Crossfit. Going gluten free was a game changer. No longer did I have the debilitating cramps that kept me popping ibuprofen and staying in bed! However, this was short lived as I still encountered many of the other symptoms that equally drove me crazy.

Fast forward several years I remember being curled up in a ball and fervently praying to God, the Universe, anyone that would listen. I prayed that I be at peace… for my mind was driving me insane.

Just thinking about the next 14 days was driving me crazy. You see, I was perpetually in a state of being a slave to the thought. A puppet to the PMS gods.

I prayed out of desperation because none of my strategies were working and I didn’t have any more cards up my sleeve to even consider.

I prayed to see things differently. Ultimately, I just prayed for peace. I remember distinctly saying, “I don’t even care if I continue on with these symptoms, I just need the peace.”

In complete and utter surrender I fell asleep and the next morning I decided to walk 4 miles to city center instead of taking the bus. In that moment I realized I was in a different state. I remember to this day that if even an inkling of a PMS related thought (or any negative thought for that matter) crossed my mind I just decided, “Nope, not going to think about that right now.” and I moved on.

And fast forward another few years later – still NO PMS SYMPTOMS. None, nada, zilch, nothing.

I remember in all my 20s saying to God, “If you cure me of this I swear I’ll write a blog post about what happened.”. So here I am fulfilling my promise.

And I can almost hear the disappointment because I of all people very well know by no means is this a sexy cure all. I know first hand how desperately satisfying and exciting it is to have someone say, “I tried X product with X person and my disease is completely gone! I am loving life now!”.

But I need to be completely honest of my own experience – it was what worked for me.

If someone would have told me this story in my early 20s I would have rolled my eyes and said, “Yea, lucky you but that isn’t going to work for me.”.

It wasn’t until years later after becoming an Integrative Life Coach (and years of studying various modalities related to neuroscience) that I realized what I did on my own is an actual thing.

You see, we are playing a movie in our minds eye all the time and what we see is a mere reflection of what we think. We can be at peace right away, symptoms or not, because it isn’t the PMS that is causing us our suffering it is our thought about it.

I just simply changed my thought.

We have become so accustomed to believing our thought is fact when really it’s just a thought. It takes a mental meta-model to truly see the nuances but it can be done. Why do you think mindfulness has made it so big? It’s achieving the same goal of separating thought from fact.

And I get it. It’s not the sexiest cure; but I also understand it’s individual timing. It’s trusting the journey in where you are. It’s the willingness to see things differently and sometimes that willingness only appears when you are so desperate.

Truly this was the moment where I experienced a miracle. I mean, if someone told me I wouldn’t have anymore PMS symptoms the next day I don’t know if I would have believed it.

Again, this was the moment I realized just how powerful our brains truly are.

Were the symptoms real? Of course. But it makes me question (and thus launched me deep into the research of the brain) and why I became an Integrative Life Coach, just how much of the symptoms were caused by the power of my own thoughts vs. my body?

I’ll say it again, through years of my own research I have come to learn that thoughts cause emotions, not the other way around. HOW we look at life, our very own perspective and belief systems, are the very basis of how we will experience life!

This is the true work of personal power. Understanding our very own foundation allows us to become the strong pillars we so desperately seek in our lives.

So whether it is PMS or some other patterned thought/behavior – just recognize that there is possibility in making your experience of the situation completely different.

On that note, I bow deeply to anyone reading this post going through PMS or any other similar situation… your strength, courage, and determination does not go unnoticed.

In deep wellness,

Susan

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

Yoga Teacher Training

Yoga. How do I put into words what this ancient practice gives me?

I find myself on the mat as I go through a variety of emotions throughout this life. Elation, peace, anxiousness, hurt, you name it, the mat has felt it all.

But let’s back up a minute…

I’ve always been drawn to yoga but didn’t have a consistent practice. The earliest recollection I have of any hint of what yoga offers me now was back in 2009 when I started to go to hot yoga. What I remember most was how I felt afterward. Immense peace and awareness. A stillness even.

But it wasn’t until I moved to San Francisco and adrenal fatigue hit hard where I somehow discovered Dana Damara and in my gut KNEW yoga would be a part of my life.

If you haven’t noticed by now yoga has been the best medicine for my soul. As I find myself falling more and more in love with this practice and community I have found another layer of me that fits the alchemy of my soul and heart.

You know what’s really funny? I found an Evernote that I jotted down in 2015 (yep, 2015!) and it reads exactly like this:

Practice yoga for a few years
Take yoga teacher training(s)
Teach at some point

And this year the timing is right and things have fallen into place where I will finally be taking yoga teacher training this Fall! I am incredibly excited and honored to be experiencing what every yoga teacher has experienced and most importantly to deepen my own practice.

I’m sure this won’t be the last I write about this… 🙂 More to come as I step into 200 hour yoga teacher training.

All the love,

Susan

Best healthy PMS milkshake! Guaranteed to solve any chocolate craving. Decadent and delicious!

The Best Chocolate Milkshake Recipe for PMS

Men, you may need to skip this post or if you have a woman in your life, read on because this post is GOLD.

Before I dive into this I need to mention one thing, the best part about this chocolate milkshake recipe is that it’s completely healthy for you! Yes, you read that right, HEALTHY. Put yo hands up!!! ?

I know so many women who suffer some form of hormonal change right before menstruation. This could result in feeling hot, irritable, bloating, and/or of course craving all the salty and sweet foods a person can ask for.

I’ve actually found NLP and training the unconscious mind to be immensely helpful when it comes to reprogramming your brain on the expectancy of PMS but that is a whole other (possibly series) of post for another day.

Today, I wanted to share with you a recipe that I love to indulge in even if I’m not craving a milkshake because it’s THAT good.

The recipe:

2-3 ice cubes
1 cup almond milk or milk of choice
2 tablespoons of pure cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of raw cacao nib for an extra chocolatey punch
Sweetener of choice such as dates, honey, agave, etc. but purely optional
Stevia to taste (just make sure you put enough sweetener whether stevia or caloric based into this shake, indulge a little!)
1/2 and avocado (yes this is what makes it SO creamy plus it’s full of magnesium!)
Adaptogens or other garnish to taste. You can put in your favorite adaptogens such as rhodiola or ashwaganda without it distorting the flavor, OR you can add in cinnamon and turn it into a Chocolate Horchata Milkshake!

I don’t know about you but just writing about this is making me want one RIGHT NOW and I just had one a few hours ago 😉

I hope you have access to these ingredients right now, I guarantee you it will satisfy. Enjoy and happy craving busting!

In wellness,

Susan

Favorites Lately – Beet Mango Smoothie

I discovered this Beet Mango Smoothie recipe on accident. I’m sure there’s a similar recipe somewhere on the interwebs but truth be told, I was looking for something refreshing to drink on a hot summer day and when I looked in the fridge I had all the ingredients to make this delicious beverage AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT 🙂

What I love about this recipe is that it’s fairly low in sugar, has a ton of fiber, and most importantly will keep you cool on these particularly hot summer days! Thankfully it’s also fairly simple to make. Here are the ingredients:

5-8 cubed raw beets (at least a handful)
1/4 – 1/3 cup cubed mangoes
Ginger the size of half your thumb or a little more (I love ginger so I tend for a little more)
1 whole lime (half if you aren’t into acidity)
2-3 ice cubes

Blend and ENJOY!

Taking the time to make this beautiful drink in the morning seriously makes my day and I hope it adds a bit of joy, serenity, and wellness to yours.

In wellness,

Susan

Friday Focus – 7/7/17 {There’s Nothing Wrong With You}

There’s nothing wrong with you

Are your hormones are a bit wonky? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Do you feel like crawling under the covers because of a string of bad days? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Struggling with a health issue? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Dealing with relationship issues that keep coming back? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Fighting an intense fear of failure? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Experiencing grief that doesn’t seem manageable? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

Wondering why it feels like it’s taking a million years to achieve X when for others it seems so easy? Sure
But it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

There’s nothing wrong with you

No matter what is happening in your life just remember this, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you.

Namaste.

Favorites Lately – Sunpotion

Stress. It can be so easy to fall into it am I right?

Every since experiencing adrenal fatigue I have been vigilant about watching stress. Whether it’s stress from work, the analytical mind, exercise, lack of sleep, you name it – ensuring your stress levels are in check requires mindfulness and action.

Paired with mindfulness and a holistic approach to life, what I have found to be amazing at helping ensure I am supported in keeping stress at bay are adaptogens.

Anyone who has delved into the world of health, fitness or vitamins has certainly heard this buzzword for quite some time. As someone who has experienced adaptogens their whole life I can attest to these amazing supplements that come from the natural elements of the world.

Lately, I’ve been using Sunpotion as part of my daily ritual. Also pictured is AmlaPlex which I’ll speak to below:

So what is moringa, rhodiola, and AmlaPlex? Let me explain how I use these wonderful adaptogens in my daily routine:

Moringa
- What it is: Moringa by Sunpotion is packaged as a green powder and is full of micronutrients and amino acids. While it has many purported benefits I specifically use moringa to assist with stress management and a gentle energy boost without the element of caffiene.
- How I use it: I love having moringa as a tea or a latte in the morning either before breakfast or after breakfast. If I drink it as a latte it will typically be before breakfast. Did I mention how much I love how it acts as a natural energy boost without feeling the jitters?!
Rhodiola
- What it is: Let me start by saying Rhodiola is magic for me. While I wrote about rhodiola in earlier blog posts I want to emphasize how important it is to find out what works for you and your body. Each body’s chemical make up is different and it’s important to work with a trained professional to find out what works for you and your current situation. I’ve tried Ashwaganda for stress management but my adrenals love Rhodiola. It stabilizes my stress and energy levels whether I have a dip in energy or too much of it; Rhodiola always brings it back to where it needs to be in the circadian rhythm.
- How I use it: Rhodiola is a key ingredient in my morning “poppin collagen lattes“. I add a half tsp, sometimes a little more, into my concoction and blend it all together until the coffee turns into a smooth foamy blend. It does have an earthiness to it but I’ve found that adding the tiniest pinch of stevia does the trick. Cinnamon helps too!
AmlaPlex
- What it is: AmlaPlex is a auyervedic blend made from 35 select ingredients, including spices and herbal extracts. I was recommended this blend from my ND who suggested to take this morning and evening to help with increasing immune function during a time when I was catching the cold.
- How I use it: Doctor’s orders… morning and evening I take a tsp after my meal. To some who are not used to various spices it may taste… spicy… but I love spice so naturally this tastes amazing 🙂 It is also a bit sweet so it acts as a dessert too.

So there you have it, adaptogens and the powerful effects it could have on your health! I can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is to adopt holistic life changes to assist with stress management and note purely rely on supplements. After all, you want to get to the root cause and only use these when your body may need the extra boost!

I’m curious, have you ever tried adaptogens? If so, which ones have you tried and have you noticed a difference? What lifestyle choices have you adjusted to get to the root cause? How do you effect positive change in your life?

Namaste.

The Benefits of Mindful Eating

Have you ever heard of mindful eating? Or eating with intention? If you have, have you actually put it to practice for an extended period of time?

Believe it or not, just like meditation or exercise, it takes work! But if you have tried it, you very well may have noticed all the wonderful benefits that come with mindful eating such as:

Complete digestion
A sense of well being and ease
Increased vitality
Feeling satiated
Better poop (yes, #2)
(just to name a few)

I wanted to write about this in particular because just like with exercise or other “seemingly” important things that we know we should be doing, mindful eating seems to be last on the priority list. And what better time to put this into practice now that the 4th of July and all of it’s bbq’ing festivities are complete?

To start, as with anything, we need a current understanding of what we are doing today as it relates to what we desire to change. So ask yourself a few questions to start:

What are you doing when you eat a meal?
How do you feel right after a meal? 1 hour after a meal?
If you prepared your own food what was the step by step process you took in order to eat your meal?

You may notice a sense of awareness and connection beginning to occur already as you take inventory of how, with whom, what, where, and why you eat your food.

Remember, no judgement, just awareness.

The point of this exercise above is to better understand where you can make small changes to set the intention of mindful eating.

Whether you tend to buy prepared food, eat alone, watch TV, or come from a family of fast eaters there are a few solid steps you can take to incorporate mindful eating:

If you’re preparing your own food take the time to study your subject. Yes, look at every detail of the asparagus and it’s tiny intricate details! If you’re adding grapefruit to your salad try scraping a tiny piece of the skin and taking in the sweet and tangy fragrance it offers. Just by doing this you are already in the now and honoring what will soon be consumed.
If you bought a prepared meal take the time to thank the food and all the ways it got to be where it is today. From the sun, soil, worms, the farmers, and yes, even the people who prepared it. Without any of these elements this delicious meal wouldn’t have been possible! By doing this you may notice a sense of ease and gratitude, simply by taking the time to notice the miracles that occur on a minute by minute basis.
As you begin to eat really take a look at what’s on your fork or spoon and notice every single detail of the food in front of you. You’ll notice things I bet you haven’t seen in years, for some, the first time in their lives. As you look at every detail on your fork you may notice the thought, “wow, I’m not actually thinking about anything else”. Yes, that’s right. Continue to practice this art of noticing your food before each bite. An added side benefit of this art is that every single bite will taste that much better because your senses are now engaged with the food and not the distraction!
Don’t just swallow, chew! There’s something beautiful that happens when you really chew. First, it’s the body’s process of starting the digestion process. Your saliva acts as the break down agent for the food that will travel down to your stomach and intestines, so why not give it a kick start? Instead of having bigger pieces of food for your body to break down, really chew and mindfully notice the food as it breaks down in your mouth. Again, you may notice just how good food tastes and just how good you will feel not only physically, but m mentally as well.
Last but not least, end your mindful eating by giving thanks and staring at your bowl or plate with appreciation for what was in front of you. Rather than rushing off to the next thing, give yourself a minute or two to really take in the moment. Honor the time you gave to yourself and the food that is now in your body.

I hope you enjoyed these simple, yet powerful tips that work for me personally. During the transition between San Francisco and Seattle it was a hectic time, but when I needed it most mindful eating was the peace and solace I needed to ground myself and step into gratitude. As you can see, truly the benefits are endless!

In wellness,

Susan

I tried visiting multiple doctors and every emerging biohack that existed, and while I saw incremental changes it was nothing compared to the peace I so deeply desired.

It wasn’t until years later after becoming an Integrative Life Coach (and years of studying various modalities related to neuroscience) that I realized what I did on my own is an actual thing.

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