Stay Tuned for Something AWESOME!

Since I've begun writing more for Share Yoga I realized I have a lot to say, and social media sound bites are not enough. This format will allow me to share ideas and work out future articles, and dare I say that one book all of us have inside. I tend to put a lot of effort into the articles I write, and do a lot of edits, but this can somehow overtake the pure flow of streaming thoughts of information and new ideas. I know when I was working on my master's program, writing a lot of essays/papers made them easier, and perhaps better. Sort of like Yogasanas, swimming, running, etc., you get good at what you practice. My topics of interest are broad, but here I will focus mainly on (Y)oga/yoga, holistic nutrition, metaphysics, wellness, spirituality, energy medicine/healing, and I am certain endurance sports/triathlon. I hope you'll stick around! 
   
Blog posts I'm currently working on:

• Reclaiming the Sacred
• Honest Food
• Peace, Peace, Peace
• 10K & the Monkey General

The First Yoga

The First Yoga

I was blessed to study with A.G. Mohan in August (2013) while he was on a World tour. As he was taught by Krishnamacharya, food is our first yoga. The relationship we have with our sustenance, which merges into our own body, is paramount to our health. Both food and sex drive our deepest human desires, and with that may be unhealthy interactions with these. 

The inner dialogue and the emotions that bubble up from our depths, often originating in cultural training and learned habits, can be a source of bondage or freedom. Do we dread eating a vegetable salad because we are on a diet? Or is it a conscious decision to eat foods that nourish our cells and provide vitality? Do we crave and long for forbidden foods because  they taste so good, or is it because we are exercising our personal right to do what we want--even if we hang our head in self disgust after or tell ourselves we'll do better starting tomorrow?

Creating a deeper relationship with our body, and a value system that supports a positive psychological state and lifestyle choices, is a far greater way to approach nutrition, exercise, and general lifestyle choices. I often tell my clients that a paradigm shift is in order. STAT! Re-tooling the way they think about nutrition and how they feel about their choices. Linking positive thought and the value of new behaviors is critical, if these new behaviors are going to stick around. And at the same time, breaking down old outdated thought patterns.

The saying "what fires together, wires together" applies here--it's called neuroplasticity and you can change the way you think.

Food for thought....

"You’ve been provided with a perfect body to house your soul for a few brief moments in eternity. So regardless of its size, shape, color, or any imagined infirmities, you can honor the temple that houses you by eating healthfully, exercising, listening to your body’s needs, and treating it with dignity and love." ~ Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Free Radicals & the Antioxidant Network

We've all heard of free radicals, but what EXACTLY are they? And, are they really that bad?

 

Free radicals are formed when molecular bonds split in a way that leaves a molecule with an odd, unpaired electron. It becomes unstable and reacts with other compounds in order to get the needed electron to become stable. Generally, free radicals attack the nearest stable molecule, taking it's electron. When the attacked molecule loses it's electron, it becomes a free radical itself. This creates a chain reaction that may disrupt a living cell. Free radicals are produced by the body as a natural course of energy production such as metabolism, as well as being triggered by the immune system to neutralize viruses and bacteria.

Substances in the environment such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke, pesticides, herbicides, food additives, and a host of others can stimulate free radical production. Lack of sleep, stressful living, toxic environment, and nutrition that is less than ideal can add up to tipping the balance. The body can normally handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free radical production becomes excessive, cellular damage can occur. An accumulation of cellular damage can ultimately lead to cancer, heart disease, and many other illnesses.

Key antioxidants play an important role in neutralizing free radicals. Even though there are hundreds of antioxidants, it appears that there are only five that work synergistically within the network of antioxidants. These five heros are: Vitamins C and E, glutathione, (alpha) lipoic acid, and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). What makes them so great is that they enhance the power of one another, and regenerate one another after they have neutralized the free radicals. This slows down the aging process, and greatly enhances the body's ability to fight off illness and disease. Please note that glutathione can not be properly utilized from a supplement, but that it is created in the body from other substances. Lipoic acid can increase glutathione production by up to 30%. There are other substances that enhance the network including flavonoids, carotenoids, & selenium. 

The best source of these nutrients: well digested, usable, REAL FOOD. I'll go a few steps further and say that veggies, fruits, nuts, & seeds well chewed are best. Simply put, you get nutrient dense food at it's best. Proper amounts of supplementation is good insurance if you are resistant to change your eating habits, have a history that would indicate high risk, or those who don't want to take a chance.  GOOD EATS!

Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills

Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills. This is a title of a book by Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.  An excitotoxin is a substance that is toxic and excites a reaction in the body & brain.  Brain neurons are literally excited to death by MSG.  These reactions are often deadly, but at the least can be a cause of common degenerative diseases.  Buying foods at the "health food store" does NOT mean that they are indeed healthy.  Common ingredients that contain MSG (monosodium glutamate): natural flavors, gelatin,  yeast extract, hydrolyzed vegetable (or soy) protein, carmel flavor, brown rice syrup, broth, barley malt, spice, milk powder, amino acids (Bragg's liquid aminos), carrageenan, lecithin, pectin, algae, sea vegetable, and I could go on!  These ingredients don't sound too bad....and are commonly in "organic" foods at the local co-op.  MSG causes obesity in lab rats.  This fat weight then becomes resistant to calorie restriction and exercise.  We also know that there is a link of obesity to metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome is when an individual has 3 or more of the following: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity (women waist greater than 35 in., men waist greater than 40 in.), and heart disease.  All listed "diseases" are common degenerative diseases.  Is there a correlation to the approval of MSG in the food system, and the increase in obesity in America?  My hunch is YES.

Holistic Nutrition 101

What exactly is holistic nutrition? 

Webster's Dictionary

Holistic: adj. of or dealing with wholes or integrated systems rather than with their parts. --holistically adv.

Nutrition: n. 1 the process by which an organism takes in and assimilates food  2 anything that nourishes; food  3 the study of diet and health.

It is the science of using natural, whole foods and nutritional supplements to detoxify, rebuild, and balance the whole person, with an awareness of how these dietary choices are interrelated with the condition of our body, emotions, spirit and the environment. (Clayton College of Natural Health) 

This area of study is becoming a fairly rigorous scientific field, but not at the expense of common sense. Besides, who actually pays for these big double blind studies anyway? With that being said, there are some very good studies out there in the World showing us that indeed food is powerful medicine. There were a lot of things going right historically for us to make it this far, however our environmental conditions are not the same that they were even 100 years ago. With modern medicine at it's peak for keeping us alive, we have the highest rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer etc. than ever before. I believe that there are indeed factors with lifestyle that need to be addressed, but what about environmental factors at play against the ability to experience wellness? Understanding human physiology, the science of nutrition, and working with other health care providers is extremely important. 

Holistic nutrition takes in the many variables of individual needs, genetic makeup/constitution, environmental factors, health history, medications, activity level etc. and is a way to nourish the body in a holistic manner.